Time had reached August 2013, the final month of the break. Peter Parker swung through New York City, reflecting on how everything seemed so remarkably peaceful.
The biggest recent news came from the Ultimate Team. After months of silence following the announcement of its formation, the department finally released a fresh update: Elijah Bradley, a Black super-soldier from the Vietnam War era now aged 62, would join the Ultimate Team under the superhero mantle "Patriot."
However, that wasn't the explosive part. The shock came during the Pentagon's press conference held to explain the Patriot's identity. They laid bare the cruel super-soldier human experiments conducted by the U.S. government during the Vietnam War—revealing that only one subject survived out of three hundred. They detailed the various forms of persecution he suffered due to his race and issued a public apology to the victim.
If the apology had been accompanied by a deep bow, the aesthetic would have looked exactly like a press conference from District 11.
The White House was "quite proud" of this, boastfully declaring that "America has the courage to admit its mistakes." In response—
"There is no doubt, as we all know, that President Matthew Ellis is very brave to admit to mistakes that were not committed by his own administration," J. Jonah Jameson mocked mercilessly on the giant screens of Manhattan. "As always, he styles himself as the 'remedier of America's wrongs,' but the question is, who pays for the massive blunders committed by this current administration?"
"When Obadiah Stane sold Stark Industries' weapons to terrorists, was our intelligence community truly oblivious? How did A.I.M.—a military-industrial conglomerate that collaborates deeply with terrorist organizations and even Hydra—secure Pentagon contracts and become a supporter of the American Avengers? Furthermore, where are the results of the investigation into the human experimentation lab at the bottom of the Hudson River, which has gone silent to this day?"
Jameson was unusually calm at this moment, even wearing a smile: "Under these circumstances, why doesn't President Ellis first acknowledge the mistakes related to himself and make amends? Perhaps he is doing so, but much like the case of Elijah Bradley, we might only get the answers thirty or forty years from now."
"Not only that, the Ultimate Team has shed the 'Avengers' name, but its composition seems closer to the Avengers than ever."
Jameson continued his relentless tirade: "They now have a U.S. Army version of Iron Man and a Black Captain America. Moreover, they intend to negotiate with Ares, a former member of the American Avengers. That gives them another Greek god—what do they need next? Release the Abomination to serve as their Hulk? Oh, don't forget, Blonsky turning into the Abomination is also something this administration should be held responsible for."
"I have to say, Jonah's tongue is as sharp as ever, but why is your temper so well-controlled when talking about everyone else?"
Landing on the tip of J. Jonah Jameson's nose on the Times Square jumbotron, Peter muttered as he looked down. Whether it was the scars from his battle with Shocker or the traces of Doctor Octopus's invasion a few months ago, all had vanished. Most New Yorkers remained unaware that this place had once been transformed into the likeness of the year 2099.
"In short, everything is peaceful and quiet—so much so that Gwen is obsessed with being Spider-Woman, nearly forgetting about the band and her summer internship. Honestly, I almost forgot too."
Squatting on Jameson's digital nose, Peter spoke while pulling out his phone. Following its gradual stabilization, the NYPD had welcomed a new wave of layoffs and recruitment. Just as he had guessed before, due to the extreme shortage of personnel, George Stacy—who had only been promoted a few months ago—was already set to be promoted to Precinct Captain.
Peter felt a bit unaccustomed to the current quiet of the world. It felt as though everyone was up to something, yet no one was actually doing anything. Clearly, the Avengers knew a great deal and were preparing for and investigating many matters, but all conspiracies seemed to have halted or fizzled out.
What were the villains doing?
"Aside from all that, there's that loathsome Spider-Man!"
Jameson's sudden roar nearly sent Peter tumbling off the screen. He shot a web and swung to the opposite side, watching Jonah's fury: "If it weren't for his negligence, the rocket wouldn't have been destroyed, and we wouldn't have drawn Namor's warning! Of course, we have reason to believe Spider-Man forgot that people actually live at the bottom of our world's oceans, but this was a blunder that could have been avoided!"
"Not to mention how much taxpayer money was wasted firing a ship from the future and using a rocket as a target!"
After a long stunned silence, Peter tried to say something, but finally gave up on the idea of arguing with J. Jonah Jameson's broadcast. At that moment, his phone rang. Peter looked at the caller ID with some surprise before answering: "Uh, hello, Mar-Vell? Is something up?"
"I have something to discuss with you, Spider-Man."
"You need the Avengers?"
"No, no, I need you... I heard you've been to many parallel universes?"
Facing this sudden message from the special advisor of S.W.O.R.D., Peter asked back tentatively: "I have been to many parallel universes. Actually, Reed Richards is currently exploring other universes as well. Uh, is S.W.O.R.D. in some kind of trouble?"
"Eh? Oh, no, S.W.O.R.D. isn't in trouble. I just wanted to..."
Hearing Mar-Vell's hesitation, Peter seemed to understand: "You want to know what happened to the Captain Marvels in other worlds?"
Mar-Vell couldn't help but laugh on the other end. That was indeed his intention. Because he had been busy with S.W.O.R.D. business and wasn't well-acquainted with Spider-Man, he had felt awkward reaching out until now. He added another sentence.
"If you have any trustworthy friends, you can bring them to S.W.O.R.D. as well. It's quite interesting here—future tech, alien tech... I'm trying to establish contact between Earth and the Kree Empire. If you're willing, you can bring some friends to have a look."
After a few seconds of silence on the line, Peter nodded as a matter of course: "That works for me. Uh, how do we get there? Through S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.W.O.R.D. are two separate departments. I'll give you an address; just bring your people there when the time comes." Mar-Vell added a word of thanks: "Thank you, Spider-Man."
It wasn't really anything worth thanking him for, but before Peter could say so, Mar-Vell hung up. Peter shrugged and opened his contact list. His thumb hovered over Gwen's name for a moment before he swiped past it.
Better not. Doing a "social internship" at S.W.O.R.D. wouldn't be easy to explain on an internship report.
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