TW: Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.
Metropolis, former SHIELD safe house
Afternoon
"So how long have you been working for Fury?" Wanda asked as she and Kurt sat on the couch, everyone else doing something else.
"Since news of The Accords broke. I knew they would come for me, so when Fury contacted me about an offer to work for him…I knew I had no choice. The government would never let me rest with what I done," Kurt explained and Wanda looked at him with kindness and understanding.
"I understand. After Lagos…the world does not forget or forgive our mistakes," Wanda said and it was silent.
"Yes, but that does mean we have to have vengeance in our hearts," Kurt said sagely.
"Your God teaches love, it's a message I've held onto," Wanda said as she pulled out the Bible he had sent her almost a year ago.
"You kept it," Kurt noted, a slight smile crossing her face as Wanda nodded.
"When the world gets too loud and hateful…I've found it brings me comfort," Wanda said, holding the book reverently, like it was some hidden treasure.
"I had hoped it would do that for you, as it has done for me," Kurt said as the two stared at each other, the rest of the world seeming to fade away.
A short distance away, Clint watched this warily.
"Don't do anything stupid," Natasha told him as she watched him. "She likes him and he likes her. He's a good guy, Clint. She could use that after everything she's been through."
"I know. Doesn't mean I won't be watching him, though. He hurts her, not even Logan will be able to find his body," Clint promised.
Natasha smirked before there was a ringing sound from her phone. She pulled it out and swore.
"The proximity alarm I set up just went off. Someone's coming," Natasha said.
Outside the entrance, Oliver and Sara stepped off the elevator, beginning to make their way towards the front door.
"Old SHIELD safe house?" Sara guessed and Oliver nodded.
"Used it four years ago on a mission. It should be empty now," Oliver noted as they reached the door, pausing. "It's unlocked."
Oliver and Sara exchanged a look, silently communicating before nodding. Slowly, they entered the living area, finding it seeming empty. The pair slowly dropped their bags to the floor, walking further into the apartment before Oliver whirled around, throwing a flechette to the left. Clint caught it easily, smirking at his old student.
"I see your relaxes haven't dulled. Good," Clint said as he tossed the flechette to the floor and Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. "Nice to see you out of uniform, kid."
"Clint," Oliver said with a slight chuckle. "This is the last place I expected to run into you."
"Could say the same of you," Clint said as he glanced over at Sara. "Hey, I'm Clint."
"Sara. I've heard a lot about you, nice to meet you," Sara said kindly, moving her hand away from where she kept her knife.
"You too. So, let's compare notes," Clint said as the others all emerged from their hiding spots.
Oscorp, Metropolis Branch
Same time
"Welcome to Metropolis, Mr. Osborn," a man said as he greeted Norman, Harry and Peter, beginning to walk with them.
"Thank you, Howard. This is Peter Parker, the young man I mentioned on the phone," Norman said as he gestured to Peter.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Parker. Lovely to meet you. We have an interview set up for you. If you'll follow Ms. Hardy," Howard said as a young woman with black, short hair and glasses walked up to Peter.
"Right this way, Mr. Parker," she said, gesturing for Peter to follow her.
Peter glanced back at Harry, who gave him a thumbs up before following Ms. Hardy.
Kent Farm
Not long after
Clark was in his loft, looking for the key to the portal in the cave. Opening the book where he kept it, he found it was missing. Hearing movement behind him, Clark knew who had taken it even before he turned around.
"I know about your little shortcut to the Fortress, Kal-El," Kara said, holding the key in her hand.
"Give me the key, Kara. I wanna talk to my father," Clark ordered.
"There's no point in confronting to Jor-El," Kara insisted, moving to walk away only for Clark to grab her wrist
"You said he disowned me and I want to know why," Clark said firmly.
"This is bigger than just Jor-El," Kara said as he took the key from her. "A darkness has come to earth. I've been trying to draw it towards me, so I can stop it."
"I was the one sent to Earth to protect it. Jor-El should have come to me," Clark said angrily.
"He said you're not ready," Kara admitted.
"He's afraid that I'll fail," Clark realized, equal parts angry and hurt. "After all the trials and all the training that I've gone through. I know my own destiny and its here."
"Kal-El, you think you have all the answers… but the evil that's out there is like nothing you've ever seen," Kara said as Clark turned away from her. "It takes advantage of people's doubts."
"There's nothing out there I can't handle," Clark said confidently.
"Pretty strong words from a guy who can't even figure out his own powers," Kara snapped and Clark turned around to face her. "It's the truth, Kal-El. You've been on Earth all this time and you still can't fly. You can't come at this thing without all of your abilities."
"But what if you can't fight it on your own?" Clark demanded and Kara hesitated. "You'd rather put the world at risk and trust Jor-El than believe in me?...you're my only family. And I need your help."
After a moment, Kara nodded. She knew Jor-El would be angry, but Clark was her cousin. And he was right; she had no idea what she was facing. She might need his help.
Former SHIELD safe house
Not long after
"So this Prometheus guy knows you were with SHIELD?" Sam asked after Oliver and Sara had explained the situation.
"Not only did he recruit China White, but he had pictures of me with all of you, Fury and Bobbi. He's been watching me for a while," Oliver explained and Clint whistled.
"And I thought we had problems. But you always did have a habit of getting yourself into trouble," Clint noted.
"Says the guy who got us into that scrap in Brazil," Oliver shot back.
"How was I supposed to know my informant would sell us out to the Triad?" Clint asked defensively.
"He was your informant," Oliver said bluntly.
"As entertaining as this is, have a feeling you didn't come to Metropolis on a weekend get away," Sara interrupted.
"You're right. We're tracking a crime lord that specializes in the trafficking of Enhanced," Natasha explained.
"They call themselves The Power Broker, but no one can seem to lay on them," Steve added.
"Two days from now, the Power Broker is supposed to meet some high ranking member of the government, except we have no idea who," Sam said in frustration.
"You at least know where?" Sara asked.
"Yeah, I have the location, I pulled it from the mind from one of the lackeys," Wanda said.
"Good luck. I'd offer to help out, but I have my own problems," Oliver said with a sigh.
"We have two days until the meet. There's nothing stopping us from helping you," Natasha pointed out and Oliver paused.
"Natasha-"
"It's what friends do, man. Besides, it'll feel good to help out again," Sam said.
"It's probably a trap anyway. At least this way, we do something Prometheus isn't expecting," Sara reasoned.
Oliver almost growled but couldn't find a fault in their arguments. Still, there was a pit in his stomach, like he was doing exactly what Prometheus wanted. He couldn't explain it exactly, just that a feeling of dread had come over him.
"I cannot help, Fury wants me to meet him," Kurt said as he checked his phone. "It's time."
"Go on, we can handle things here. Sounds like you're needed elsewhere," Steve said and Kurt nodded.
"Be careful," Kurt told them, his eyes lingering on Wanda more than the others.
"You too," Wanda said, meeting his eyes with a slight smile.
Kurt merely nodded before telaporting away, leaving only a puff of smoke in his place.
Oscorp
Not long after
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Parker," the interviewer, a man in his mid-forties, said as he and Peter finished up. "We'll be in touch."
Peter nodded as they got to their feet, shaking hands. Peter wasn't too sure of his chances of landing this internship; his grades had not been the best his last year of high school between Spider-Man and being man of the house. Still, he was grateful for the opportunity.
Suddenly, the alarms began blaring and the two looked around in bewilderment.
"What is that?" Peter asked.
"It's Code Alpha. Someone is stealing from the Applied Science division," the interviewer said as he paled.
In the Applied Science department, the room was a mess, boxes and chairs thrown on the floor, scientists huddling on the floor, looking up fearfully.
For in the air, standing on some kind of glider was a man (at least it looked like a man) dressed from head to toe in green armor, complete with a mask that seemed to resemble some kind of demon with yellow, evil eyes.
"So long!" the armored figure laughed before flying out, crashing through a door.
The figure flew down the hallway before coming across men in uniform, who immediately opened fire on him. The figure used his glider to deflect the bullets fired at him before throwing what looked like a small pumpkin that was beeping. Realizing what it was, the security jumped out of the way before the bomb went off. The explosion sent them all flying and the armored figure laughed insanely before a red and blue figure tackled him.
"You know Halloween was a few months ago, right?" Peter asked as he and the armored figure awkwardly tried to avoid falling as the glider tried to compensate for their weight.
With a roar, the figure punched Peter and the strength threw Peter off, although he used some webbing to swing back, trying to strike the figure, but the glider flew out of the way.
"What's Spider-Man doing in Metropolis?" the figure demanded.
"Thought a change of scenery would be nice. What about you? You just feel like crashing a board meeting? Because that look, don't think you're gonna get taken seriously," Peter quipped.
"What is going on out here?" Norman demanded as he emerged at the end of the hall, seeming to take in the scene.
Which seemed to be exactly what the figure was waiting for. With a cackle, he threw another pumpkin bomb, this time at Norman. Swearing, Peter jumped forward, grabbing the bomb with his webbing before crashing through a nearby window. Peter flung the pumpkin bomb into the sky and, within a few seconds, it exploded harmlessly.
Peter swung back through the window to see the armored figure gone and Norman on his back, rubbing his head like he'd been hit.
"Where-where is he?" Norman asked, seeming to be disoriented.
"Gone," Peter said softly, wondering where the figure could have gone too.
Kent Farm
Later
Standing on top of the windmill, Kara was trying to teach Clark how to fly. Key word being 'trying'.
"I think I liked it better when I was showing you the ropes," Clark muttered as he looked down at the ground uneasily. "I guess this is easy for you, huh?"
"It's not easy or hard. It just…it just is. I mean, I reach for the sky and the rest of the world falls away. I'm not thinking of anything, I'm just in the moment," Kara explained.
Clark nodded, taking her words to heart. Closing his eyes, Clark tried to concentrate. But super hearing was a double-edged sword. The more he tried to concentrate, the more the sounds of the outside world kept breaking his concentration.
"The more I try to clear my head, the more I hear," Clark said in frustration as he opened his eyes.
"Kal-El, instead of trying to force the noise out, why don't you just try to focus on one thing?" Kara said, remembering how he had helped her learn to control her super hearing when she had first arrived on earth. "Like that butterfly."
Following her gaze, Clark saw a butterfly had landed on the edge of the windmill.
"Make it your whole world," Kara suggested.
Taking a calming breath, Clark concentrated, the only sound he heard being the flapping of the butterfly's wings. Looking up into the sky, Clark readied himself before taking off. He made it several feet up into the air before he felt gravity begin to pull him down. As much as he tried, he couldn't stop himself from falling. He crashed through the roof of the barn and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Clark sat up, humiliated, which wasn't helped by Kara speeding up next to him.
"It was a start," Kara said kindly as she offered him a hand.
"It's not flying if it's mostly falling," Clark said in frustration, throwing a broken board away as he pulled himself to his feet, ignoring Kara's hand.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have ignored your father's wishes. I shouldn't have helped you," Kara apologized as she turned away from him.
"No, I just-I need to figure this out," Clark insisted.
"You're doubting your powers. You're frustrated, you're unfocused. You are not ready," Kara snapped as she turned back to him.
"I'm not just gonna stand here and do nothing," Clark snapped.
"The darkness, it came through a rip in the universe three months ago. You think it's just gonna stand here and wait until you're ready?" Kara snapped back. "Just leave it to me."
"Three months ago?" Clark asked, a thought occurring to him.
"What? What is it?" Kara asked as she saw the look on his face.
"I think I know how it came here."
Metropolis
Not long after
Clark sped up to the rooftop where he had fought Zod, Kara appearing behind him a moment later. Heading over to the Crystal console, Clark opened it as Kara watched curiously.
"You said the darkness came through a tear in the universe. It made sense. Three months ago, I was on this rooftop and opened a portal using the Book of Rao," Clark revealed. "If the darkness came through a gateway, maybe it can leave through one."
"I've used my bracelet before to open a portal," Kara said as she took it off her wrist. "This dark force is like a disease."
"How did it become so powerful?" Clark wondered.
"It can see your thoughts and feelings. It can prey on the one morsel of weakness even the purest person doesn't realize they have inside them," Kara explained. "It can possess you, but it can't possess someone who is pure of spirit. Who has true clarity of purpose. But your father-"
"Thinks it'll prey on some weakness inside me," Clark finished.
"Kal-El," Kara started gently. "If this dark force can possess someone with your abilities, you could be the greatest weapon this planet has ever seen."
Former SHIELD safe house
Same time
"So Prometheus is trying to lure you to a BDMS club? What, is trying to get you to embrace your dark side or something?" Clint asked in disbelief as Oliver and Sara showed the former Avengers the images of Club Desaad.
"Little late for that, we were both messes before The Gambit," Sara joked but Oliver ignored this.
"I don't know why Prometheus wants us there, but he made a very convincing threat to both of our families if we don't do as he says," Oliver said.
"Whatever he wants, we've got your back, man," Sam told him and Oliver sighed.
"I know, Sam. I just wish that was enough. Prometheus seems to be at least ten steps ahead of me. And I don't even know who he is," Oliver said in frustration.
"We'll figure it out, Ollie. Together," Sara told him and Oliver smiled tightly.
"I hope so, Sara. More than our lives are at stake," he said grimly.
Metropolis, four years earlier
"Tell me how you got how those powers and all this ends," Dragon said, menacingly waving the gun in front of Lex's face.
"You really want to know?" Lex asked.
"Yes, I really do," Dragon said.
"A being from another dimension –actually, from another planet –inhabited my body and gave me sounds ridiculous, but it's true. When he left me, the powers went with him," Lex confessed. "That's it. That's all I know."
It was silent for a moment before Dragon lowered the gun and, without a word to Lex, walked out of the room. Entering another, he saw Clint waiting for him.
'You believe him?" Dragon asked.
"A few years ago, would have thought he was trying to bullshit us. But that was before Loki made me one of his flying monkeys. I think he's telling the truth. Besides, a man as smart as Luthor? If he was gonna lie, why make up something so outrageous," Clint pointed out and Dragon nodded.
"My thoughts too. So, what you wanna do with him?" Dragon asked.
"Know him out; drop him off at the hospital. He's gonna need it since someone shot him," Clint said with a pointed look at Dragon, who shrugged.
"It got results, didn't it? Where's Oliver?" Dragon asked as he noticed Oliver's absence.
"I told him to stand guard outside when you shot Lex. I was worried he might go in there and do something drastic," Clint explained.
Outside, Oliver was standing guard when he noticed a car pulling up outside the gate, a silver SUV.
"Guys, I think we have a problem," Oliver said, tapping the Comms piece in his suit.
Metropolis General
Now
"How's your dad?" Peter asked as Harry sat down across from him in the waiting room.
"A bump on his head, but they think he'll be all right. They want to keep him overnight for observation," Harry said, running a hand through his hair. "This turned out to be a mess."
"At least he's alive. Not everyone is so lucky," Peter said softly, thinking of Uncle Ben.
"Yeah, I guess so," Harry said and a beat passed.
"This guy that robbed you, what he steal?" Peter asked.
"I don't know. They won't tell me anything. With my dad in the hospital, the big brass is cutting me out," Harry said, trying not to sound bitter.
Peter nodded his face blank. The higher ups might not be willing to talk to Harry…
But he had a feeling that Spider-Man would have more luck.
Club Desaad
Not long after
A man was sitting in a booth, nursing a drink, ignoring everything around him until someone approached him.
"Adrian," Godfrey greeted the man and Adrian Chase looked up at him with a smirk.
"Godfrey."
"Is the trap set?" Godfrey asked as he sat down across from Adrian.
"Oliver Queen and Sara Lance will come here tonight. And then…we'll have a little fun," Adrian said with a sadistic smirk.
And that ends this chapter. Not a lot happened aside from Peter having his first encounter with the Green Goblin, but hope you all enjoyed it.
Next chapter will be a lot more eventful, so stay tuned.