Peter in his normal clothes arrived at the location and it looked like it was some abandoned club; confused he nonetheless knocked on the door while checking his note and that on the other side of it was the word 'SANCTUARY'. Soon some sort of security guard answered the word and looked down at him. "Uh... Sanctuary..." Peter said and it worked as some sort of password as he was let in and found that several normal looking people were chatting away and having drinks at the bar with some in wheelchairs.
He stopped at a table and was stunned to see a tall muscular orange haired woman in a dark purple bodysuit laughing it off with a pale skinned man with black hair and a black man that had a star shaped scar on his face. He recognised them as the supervillains Titania and the others were his enemies Max Dillon or Electro who had electric powers and Michael Morbius a famous scientist who was trying to experiment on himself to cure his rare blood disease but turned him into a vampire like creature.
"So as Shulkie and I were pounding it in her bed again, I was thinking about pounding her face when we next fight... Hey Mike; I think that guy is staring at you..." Titania then told the others and they looked at him.
"I know; it's really me the Living Vampire and I know the memes... It's Morbin Time and all that... I have been annoyed by it but better embrace it if you know what I mean..." Morbius laughed at Peter as he stared at him confused.
"I thought that you were in a treatment centre in another country..." Peter said as they stared at him.
"That's the public story but you should know... They locked me up before letting me go and giving me resources for medication until they want me for another villain fight..." Morbius said as Peter just looked puzzled at him as Coulson then came up to him.
"There you are Peter... Sorry about it as this is Peter's first night here in Sanctuary... You know that girl that the Goblin killed at the Bridge... She was his girlfriend." Coulson then told them putting his arm around Peter's shoulder as he looked at the stranger.
"Got it... Sorry... Still at least good came out of it... Spidey ended the Goblin and is now in the Squadron... Good for him I say, I always liked him and him looking out for the neighbourhood of the city... Friendler than Nighthawk ever was... Kind of an honour to be in his rogues gallery..." Dillon then said starting to smile as Peter was lost as Dillon never acted like this when they fought.
"You could have been in the Squadron if your hero career worked out Max." Morbius said as Dillon just shrugged as Peter's eyes widened at this.
"Yeah... Peter is it? No one tells you this but I tried to be a hero when I first got my powers... Accidentally However it started to rain in my debut patrol and I ended up accidentally killing civilians... Got out of control before I fought Spidey... Rest is history..." Dillon said as Peter suddenly remembered his first fight with Electro during his first year as Spider-Man...
Dillon wearing a dark green and yellow suit and a green mask with a yellow star decoration was yelling as he was zapping electricity everywhere as Peter as Spider-Man got people out of the way and shot webs at him. "So... Electro you called yourself... Let's end this before someone gets hurt and especially you..." Peter quipped to him as he was avoiding electric blasts and soon Dillon short circuited himself out with his powers. This allowed Peter to swing in and knock him out with a punch.
"Was he just a helpless victim of not being able to control his powers in the rain..." Peter wondered feeling guilty as Coulson took him to a table and sat down. "So... You invited me to this place and do I have a name to call you..." Peter asked as Coulson looked at him
"Coulson, welcome to Sanctuary where victims of superhuman collateral damage and punch clock bad guys hang out, drink, play pool or darts and have support groups... We have people here who have lost loved ones to various hero battles and some injured by falling debris... Someone here was shoved aside by Blur with his super speed..." Coulson explained to him as Peter looked confused.
"Punch clock bad guys?" Peter asked as Coulson shook his head.
"Make no mistake Parker; a lot of the big bad guys who gain powers are evil and out for themselves but the lower ones... Most powers come about by accident and are either able to get a hang of them to decide to be heroes but a lot of the others end up unable to control them before they are labelled as villains by the media or are taken down by heroes to be labelled as villains. Whatever they are labelled then sticks... They now commit crimes because they have no other option or ends up getting hired by Stark Industries to act as villains after breaking parole for a flashy and juicy superhero news story... As I said there are genuinely evil like Osborn or the aliens and terrorists but the people here with powers got the short end of the stick..." Coulson told him and Peter shook his head in denial.
"How can this be? Why wouldn't people notice..." Peter asked as he then remembered all those years ago and his encounter with the Hulk, what he said and how he was handled when Hyperion caught up to him. Not seeming like the monster that the media portrayed him as...
"A million dollar PR campaign backed by Stark Industries who have had the virtual monopoly on that since the 40s...Comic books, merchandising and TV... Plus it helps that the public don't want to know the dirty side of superheroics... That their villains could be misunderstood or their heroes can be callous and not caring about those caught in the crossfires of the damage... You know the Department of Damage Control that cleans up in the aftermath of hero battles and the company itself has ties to around the world... Mostly owned by Stark." Coulson told him as Peter took this in. "You know how much all those Spider-Man comics make every year and the merch by all the companies taking advantage of a public figure with a secret identity not backed by any company... Stark will be looking to take advantage of that and will now be seeking licensing fees from all of those with you now in the Squadron..." Coulson told him as he then grinned as Peter's face lit up.
"What do you want..." Peter demanded in a whisper as Coulson gave him a circular device.
"Put this in a safe place in the Rocket Central when you have the chance and if you want to help me take down a corrupt community from the inside... Will help hack our way into a server..." Coulson told him as Peter then then pocketed it and decided that he needed to get home. "See you..." Coulson told him with his arms folded.
Nightcave; the headquarters of Nighthawk underneath Richmond Manor in New York City. Richmond was in full Nighthawk gear at his computer while the Nightcave was decorated with trophies taken from his various enemies. Then entered was a green skinned man with pointy ears, in a purple suit, dark green high collar cape, dark green boots and dark green gloves. "Kyle; I hope that this is good... I'm retired you know..." said the retired founding member of the Squadron Supreme who was Sk'ym'x the Skrullian Skymaster. A member of the shape shifting alien species known as the Skrulls.
"I hate to take you away from your life of changing into different people to get with women but I want to ask a favour of you. You should know about Spider-Man joining the Squadron Supreme despite my objections; I don't trust him on the team." Richmond told him as Sk'ym'x had his arms folded.
"And... You hardly trust anyone at all Kyle..." Sk'ym'x replied as Nighthawk turned and looked at him.
"All I ask is that you keep an eye on him... On the Rocket Central... This card should register you as a normal employee as to not arise suspicion..." Richmond told him handing him a keycard.
"I will humor you Kyle but I have to ask; do you think that your attitude would have driven your Nightbird away if she was still here..." Sk'ym'x asked as he then left as Richmond turned to face a memorial glass panel with a dark blue and black bodysuit in it with a yellow bird symbol, a dark red cape and a yellow hawk themed eye mask.
The night was hard for Peter as his dreams were filled with his meeting at the Sanctuary club and what was said; he barely felt awake as awoke the next morning and thought that he had time as it was a Saturday and he didn't work weekends at the repair shop. He got to the table in the kitchen to find a paper bag and a note from Aunt May saying that she had got called to the FEAST centre but packed him a lunch for the Squadron.
He actually was amused and embarrassed at the same time and he thought that some time to make a decision at the Rocket Central would do him some good. He changed into his Spider-Man suit and then got his bag with a spare set of clothes as he used the communication device to have him teleported to the Rocket Central.
He found his way to the gym training area and was there to witness Zarda pinning down a large green skinned muscular woman in a dark purple leotard bodysuit with a white stripe down it. He recognised her as Jennifer Walters the She-Hulk as she ended up tapping out with Zarda helping her up. "Thanks Jen; can always count on you to be my fave sparring partner..." Zarda told her as Jennifer gave her a smack on the behind with a smile.
"Hope I am your fave bed partner as well..." Jennifer said as she then left and Peter was then noticed by Zarda who wordlessly invited him in.
"Spider-Man... How about we do some sparring?" Zarda asked offering Peter and decided to try it. Peter using his Spider-Sense and speed to dodge her punches and kicks and got a few kicks and punches in. He managed to web her foot to take her down and then offered a hand to help him up.
"Impressive Spidey, even if I was going easy on you like I do other newbies to the Squadron..." Zarda told Peter as he took in the praise and remembered something.
"Zarda... Is it alright if I call you that... What do you mean when you told me not to let this kill my spirit?" Peter asked as Zarda sighed.
"With all the glitz and glamor with the publicists and all the PR that Stark gives everyone here at the Squadron... I haven't really felt like a hero in a long time... To tell you the truth..." Zarda admitted to Peter as he then looked astonished.
"But you're Power Princess... You fight monsters and aliens and have saved the world penty of times!" Peter replied as Zarda hold up a hand as if to say to follow her and he followed her to the row of rooms. Zarda then let him inside as Peter noticed all the relics and weapons which looked amazing, he walked around Mjolnir as Zarda pointed to the individual relics.
"You can see my sword, shield, the Chain of Veracity... Plus the Necrosword that I got after I took care of Gorr the God Butcher, Hercules' mace... Watch your step so you don't trip over Mjolnir; Thor and I were childhood friends but he went missing a long time ago... An axe from Ares..." Zarda described and then got a photo of her with the sailor, Captain America and Golden Agency. Peter looked at it and was in wonder. "There with us all... Phil Sheldon, the young heroic idealistic sailor who discovered the Isle of Utopia and made us all aware of the 2nd World War... Our first visit from the outside world since Ragnarok fell onto Asgard and we lost our allies there... They elected to leave the planet on a shuttle... I decided to stay behind and help fight to end the war..." Zarda explained as she sat down.
"Phil... I consider Captain America to have been a close friend but Phil was something special... He was hopeful for the world after we beat the Axis... We fell for eachother and he was there as we snuck into Germany... The boat fell and I tried to save him but with him in my arms, he told me to finish the mission... I stormed into Berlin and found my way to Adolf Hitler... With his Master Man and other Nazi super soldiers taken care of or else where, he begged for mercy that he had never given before... I presented his head to the Soviets once they reached Berlin... I decided to retire... I found amongst his possessions an engagement ring... Took his surname as my own afterwards..." Zarda muttered as she looked down and Peter felt sorry for her as he understood the implication.
"I stayed on the down low... Hyperion appeared to the world and I became hopeful for a more heroic world again so I went public again... All that time I became guilty for being a coward, not helping out in the civil rights and feminist movements... The McCarthy trials and al the BS associated with that... I had stood by while all that happened and the Mutant witch hunts leading to the Mutant Massacre... Then after even the Squadron Supreme became a big showbiz gig for Stark Industries as I tried to convince myself that stopping monster threats was enough but seeing how jerks my teammates could be and how aloof Hyperion is when I voiced concerns to him... I don't really recognise the woman in this photo with Phil..." Zarda told Peter with a big sigh as he digested his words.
"Sorry about Phil... You should always fight for a better tomorrow and for the little people... My Uncle and Aunt always told me about being the best person you can be and my girlfriend did as well... If it wasn't for me noticing her body... I might have taken my anger out on Osborn..." Peter muttered and on a whim he decided to unmask and show his face. "Don't tell anyone but... Peter Parker..." Peter said as he put his mask back on and Zarda smiled at him.
"Looking forward to getting to know you Spider-Man... Peter..." smiled Zarda and Peter smiled back at her. He then waved to her and went out of the room and took out the device that Coulson had given to him.
"There can still be good here..." Peter thought as he was about to crush it in his hands and didn't notice a staff member looking at him. He felt his Spider-Sense go off and decided to have a request to send him back to New York. He was sent to a building and found it was a warehouse that he went into to change back into his civilian clothes.
He looked to the device but ended up attacked as there was the staff member with his arm transformed into a long large fist that held him in his grasp. The man glared at him as he then transformed into Sk'ym'x as he then went and picked up the device. "Skrullian Skymaster..." Peter muttered out shocked and scared as he was unable to get free.
"What is this... What are you up to Spider-Man..." demanded Sk'ym'x as he went closer but was hit by 3 rocket launchers at once causing him to scream in pain as Peter got loose and went back in shock as to what is happening. There was Coulson, Fury and Castle getting out flame throwers and using them on Sk'ym'x.
They finished as what was left of Sk'ym'x was a pile of goo on the ground; "You killed him..." Peter muttered in shock as they looked at him.
"Your welcome and so you are Spider-Man... To think that I failed to kill you and got my butt handed to you..." Castle muttered shaking his head as Peter recognised the Punisher who he had fought and defeated when the vigilante had went to try and kill him.
"Coulson gave you one simple task and you managed to muck it all up so spectacularly that it's actually impressively hilarious..." Fury told Peter getting up in his face with a stern tone of voice.
"A founding Squadron member is now dead Colonel Fury sir so it's not a total loss..." Coulson said as Peter stared at Castle who now realised what he looked like and then to Fury and Coulson.
"So Coulson; you're working with the hero hating Punisher and this is your boss..." Peter asked as Fury shook his head.
"Welcome to the team Spider-Man; don't act like you have a choice in the matter now..." Fury ended up telling him and Peter knew that he really didn't at this point.
The Skrullian Skymaster here was killed in a similar scenario to Translucent in the show which I think is fitting as Translucent was created to replace Jack from Jupiter the Martian Manhunter expy in the Boys comics. Plus Skrullian Skymaster was the expy of the Martian Manhunter in the Squadron Supreme.
Electro trying to have been a hero before accidentally killing people and then became a villain afterwards was inspired by the first episode of Supercrooks on Netflix which showed the origin of the lightning powered protagonist Johnny Bolt.