Chapter 22: One Cold Brew, Two Trench Coats, And Twelve Strong Arms
I got into my DeLorean in my noir suit, intending to keep the name the Dark Knight for good, I wasn't about to let such a badass name go to waste. The car arrived in the secret alley, and I pulled out, and several moments later, as soon as I was far enough from the alley, I pulled to the curb, and deactivated the car's cloaking, surprising the people that were walking on the sidewalk.
I lowered my window, and said "Hey fellow folks of the polluted but beautiful city of New York! How's it going?"
"He's talking to me!" One of the guys said.
"Yes, I am." I said, smiling, not that they could see it. "Your day just got one hundred percent better, right? But then again, I'm not that famous yet, so probably not."
"No, it totally did!" A girl that looked vaguely familiar said, walking up to the car. "Can I get an autograph?"
"I'm already that famous, huh?" I said to myself. "Sure, here." I got a pen out of my suit, and a paper from a notepad that I totally didn't place there for this very purpose. I signed with 'Karma, AKA Spider-Man, the Dark Knight' Then I gave her the paper, and said "That does the job?"
"Perfectly! I didn't know you actually used Karma, I thought that was a one time thing."
"It was." I said. "But then my allies started calling me Karma, so it stuck. What's your name?"
"Jean, Jean Gray." Well, fuck.
I blinked two times, then I realized I had to say something "I know a Jean Gray from some other universes, I guess you're the version in this universe. But I have some things to do now, talk to you later?"
"There's other universes, which have me, and I'm your friend there? That's so cool! Here, I will give you my number."
She started reaching into her bag, and I said "No need to give me your phone number, just answer when you receive a call from me. And your other versions aren't friends with me, their friends with the other versions of me. But please keep this to yourself."
"Of course, you have a family you need to keep safe. But how will you contact me when you don't have my number?"
"I will get it." I said casually. "I have friends in high places, so it won't be a problem. But don't worry, I won't stalk you, but my daughter might, sorry about that, she always goes crazy over things like that."
"It's not a problem! I probably won't even know that she did, and she's just a kid, probably younger than me. I get it."
"Thanks!" I said. I stretched my hand out in a handshake. "Till next time?" I asked.
She shook my hand. "Till next time."
I nodded, and revved my engine as I left, rolling my window up.
"So," Sexi's voice came on, "that was Jean, huh? Nice girl, very forward, and not scared at all."
I groaned. "Why did I know you were totally listening in?"
"Because I'm your daughter." She said, as if the reason was obvious. "You knew that I was listening in, so you mentioned me, telling me that you would rather I didn't check her background, but that it would be ok if I did. Oh, and apparently, she goes to Midtown, has been going for the last two years, she's a junior like you, but she's not in the Level II advanced classes, she's in Level I. I think watching her meet both sides will be fun, what do you think?"
"I think," I said "this is one of those pains in your ass, that you are somehow fine with, but I would rather it not be a pain."
"That's another way of putting it." She said. "Have fun at coffee."
I heard six heartbeats following me from the rooftops, six heartbeats that I recognized. "Sexi," I said "whatever happens at the coffee shop, don't tell the others, or have them come to me, I got this, even though I don't know which direction this is going towards yet."
"I won't send assistance unless you clearly need it." She said.
"Look at the rooftops, sunshine. I have more than enough security."
After a moment, she said "Oh, I get it. Ok, I won't call for help, unless all seven of you are overwhelmed. That works?"
"Perfectly." I said. "Thanks sunshine, wish me luck."
"Luck." She said. "Stay safe, and I'm pretty sure that at this rate, we'll seriously have an army at our house, that we'll need to fit in The Home."
"Don't worry, we have space, and we're all enjoying the freakshow, even Aunt May. I know there's a limit, but you gotta admit, the fact that the house is nearly filled to the brim is awesome, right?"
"Yeah. Now get to your coffee shop, and enjoy your cold brew."
"You got it, sunshine." I said, then I revved my engine, going at sixty mph.
I smirked. The heartbeats had picked up their speed too.
I got to the coffee shop, and stopped on the curb right in front of the entrance to the Starbucks, and got out of my car, fixing my coat as I got out. I walked in, and the store immediately became quiet. I spread my hands out, and said "What, I'm not Tony Stark, y'all. I'm not going to kill y'all, I don't bite, I just wanted some cold brew!" I shook my head in mock disappointment. "The perils of being a celebrity." One of the teenagers that were in the cafe laughed, and I said "See! He gets the vibe! I didn't do nothing, and y'all be staring at me like I done a crime!" I winked, and said "Don't worry, I am just joking around, I'm a human under this mask y'know, a human with a beautiful daughter, and an awesome family. I can do dad jokes too, if you don't believe it."
"Are you for real?" The teenager who laughed before asked.
"No, I'm not for real, I'm Dad." I said, and the crowd laughed at that. I walked up to the bar, and said "A cold brew, two sugars, and whipped cream on top." One of the teenagers laughed quietly at that, and I turned to face her, and blinked. "Not that whipped cream, kid. Like I said, I got a daughter, and she would be aghast if I was cheating on her mom, not that I would do it anyway."
I heard the barista quietly place a cyanide pill in my drink, and then give it to me. "A cold brew with two sugars, and whipped cream on top, for..."
"The Dark Knight." I said. "One of my many names. Vengeance, Karma, Spider-Man, Night, Dark Knight, all of them awesome."
"For the Dark Knight, then. It is free for you."
"I'm not that type of guy, I save y'all from things like HYDRA, or SHIELD," at that her fingers twitched, revealing to me that she was SHIELD. "To see y'all safe, in coffee shops, or on the streets. Not to get awesome coffee for free. By the way," I looked at the barista's nametag. "Michelle, how's working for SHIELD going for you?"
"Sir?" She said, acting confused. The atmosphere in the cafe went dark again.
"I heard you drop the cyanide pill in my drink, Michelle. But you forgot to mention it to me. Do you know what I did, to deserve the Director's wrath?"
"No, sir." She said.
"No need to call me sir. Just call me Karma, you were doing your job, and I respect that. What I did to get Fury on my ass, was that when he hunted to find out who was under the mask, he couldn't find out who was under. I kept my family safe from him, and he doesn't like that. You know, he killed my parents? For nothing, other than going against his wishes to put SHIELD in control of the world by force. The reason he hates me is because I'm exposing his secrets, the names of the people he killed, the people he wants to kill. Here, let's talk to your boss." I pressed a button on my wristpad, and after two moments, Fury's voice came on.
"Agent, is this line secure?"
I nodded, so she said "Yes, sir."
"Was the cyanide pill successful?" He asked.
"I don't know, Nicholas." I said. "I haven't drunk my awesome coffee yet, but according to the cyanide pill I ate several days ago as a test, it shouldn't work. Here, let's try again." I deactivated the lower half of my mask, and in one gulp, I drank the whole thing, then crushed the cup. "It's a failure, sorry, Nick. I'm coming out, let's talk on the seats outside."
"What are you aiming at, Spider?" He said, sounding angry.
"Well, the cancellation of Project Oversight would be good, amongst many others." I turned to the crowd. "Project Oversight, y'all, is a project looking to add several more Helicarriers to the sky, and orbit the world, being the 'Oversight' over the world, and controlling the world by force. They even have a hit list, for people that are a potential danger, that they will kill when the Helicarriers are in the sky. Let's look at one of the names, shall we? Doctor Stephen Strange. The best neurosurgeon in the city, and possibly the world as well. Pray tell, what has this honorable man, with an honorable profession, done to deserve death? By the way Strange, if you're somehow watching this, know that I have placed protection over you, they can't hurt you. So what do you say, Nicholas? You wanna come in front of the cafe, and talk to me, man to man, or will you run away?"
"I'm waiting for you." He said.
"That's what I thought." I turned to Michelle. "I've sent the payment, and a tip on top, for every person working at this cafe, you included. Thanks for the coffee." I turned to the crowd. "y'all should come and watch and record and share, and let your friends and families know that this is happening. I'm not doing this to talk to Fury, I'm doing this to explain to y'all, why I don't trust Fury. No danger will come to you guys, I swear on my daughter's life."
I went outside, and found Fury sitting outside, in all his trench coated disgust. He didn't deserve to wear those beauties, he was soiling the fashion. "Nicholas." I said simply, but placing a good amount of venom in my tone.
"Karma." He said, just as simply, but not being able to put the same amount of venom as me.
I sat down, and the people from inside came out, all holding their phones out, and taking videos. Nick glared at them and said "No video evidence."
"Uh-Uh." I said. "You guys can take videos all you want, I want the world to know why I'm going against SHIELD."
He glared at me, then gave up. "What did you want to talk about, Spider?"
"Well, see, Nicholas, I wanted to talk to you about people you've killed, and people on your hit list, and Project Oversight, and your dealings with HYDRA and several mercenaries, and your attempts at recreating the Super Soldier, which failed when the new Soldier, whose parents you killed so as to have full control over his blood, turned out to have impenetrable skin. But first, we will talk about people you've killed. First up, The Cages. Care to tell the world who they were, and why you killed them, Nicholas?"
"I'm not the only one keeping secrets, Rogers. You want to explain to your fan base why I called you that?" He shot back.
"Oh, because that is so much more important than the people you've killed." I said, but I was honestly happy he brought that up. "What he's talking about, folks, by the way Nicky, they're not my fan base, they're the people of my city, whom I refuse to let you control. But back to point, yes, my grandfather was Steve Rogers, but that doesn't mean anything, does it? His children were kidnapped by HYDRA and KGB as children, and SHIELD doesn't know where they are, and won't. Now, about the Cages?"
"The Cages were two of my greatest agents, who were also scientists. They were killed by the Zodiac."
"Ahh, well done. You said everything, but none of the incriminating things. Let me tell you guys those parts. I went through SHIELD'S database, folks, and guess what I found!? I found out that SHIELD knew about the attack from Zodiac was coming weeks before it happened, and in preparation, they sent the Cage's son, Luke Cage, with them, in anticipation that the Cages would inject their son with the Super Soldier Serum SHIELD had them develop, and throw him off the plane that they were on, knowing that he would survive the fall because of the serum. See, the thing is, if you work for Fury, and you're a vital piece to the organization, you better not have any morals, or they kill you. It's what happened to the Cages, to the Parkers, to my parents! He knew that Luke's parents would not let SHIELD be in control of an army of Super Soldiers, and as such, he prepared for it. But there was one tiny problem, wasn't there?" His eyebrow twitched. "Yes, there was a problem. This version of the Serum made Luke more powerful than my grandfather, and his skin was impenetrable! So, they had to say bye to the idea of a Super Soldier army." By now, the crowd was covering the whole street, filled with people, and one in about every ten people was a SHIELD agent. "Nice crowd we got here, right? But moving on, next point, your hit list. Why do you have children on your hit list? I'll admit, the logic behind killing one such as the Fantastic Four is there, but it's faulty. Like, I get the reasoning, but no one hurts my family, neither are they bad people. But killing kids, whose parents you killed before him, just doesn't make sense. Explain, Nicholas. Why did I find Peter and Teresa Parker on your hit list?" I turned to the crowd. "This could be any of us, folks. When I found out they were on the list, I investigated into them, and found out that they did nothing to deserve death, except for being smart, and ahead of their classes, this could just as well have been any one of us! A child of ours, who has a gift, be it his brains, or his acrobatic skills, or the fact that he trained at several dojos, and therefore has a whole lot of fighting skill! My kid could be the best in the basketball team, and they would target her!" I turned back to Fury, and said "By the way, I know which people in the crowd are your agents."
"Do you now?" He challenged. "Go on, pull five of them put of the crowd."
I didn't even get up, just used my webs to pull them to me. "That good for you, Nickster? Now, answer the question. Why do you have children on your hit list?"
"If you knew these five were agents," he said "Then you know ten percent of the people are my agents, and that you're surrounded, and outnumbered, and outmatched."
"Ahh, you're wrong about that outmatched part, Nickelodeon. It's a new season, the winter is almost over, it's coming to a close. It's a new season, a new start, and it will start with your ass in the dust."
Five minutes ago, The Parker (and everyone else's) Residence
Everyone was sitting around, in the living room, just hanging around, when Tess said "Let's watch the news! Then we can see Peter get the dark cup of cold brew!"
She turned the TV on, and it failed for a moment, before working. Tess switched to the news channel, and then there were pictures of The Dark Knight getting out of his car, leaning against the bar, joking around with the crowd. But every now and then, the TV turned to static, and Nat turned to Sexi, raising an eyebrow, and said "Sexi, the real news, please."
Sexi shrunk into herself, and said "Dad said not to show you guys. He talked to me like five minutes ago, and he said not to let you guys know, and I know that he's safe, trust me."
Nat spoke in Russian "Sexi, you know what your dad said about my raised eyebrows, and my eyebrows are very raised right now."
Sexi shrunk in even more. "He has a security feature, or several of them, he's fine. Dad told me not to let y'all know, or let y'all come to help him, he had it under control."
Aunt Nari looked at Sexi, and said "You're not letting us know, the TV is. It's fine, he will have to explain when he comes back anyways, and it would be easier for him this way."
"Fine, but let me tell you, it's way better than it looks, and I'm not telling you what's actually going on, that ruins the dramatic effect." The TV fixed, and everyone collectively gasped.
"He's on some sort of drugs." Bobbi said. "Like to be sitting there casually, Fury right across him, Fury's the one that's tense, not Peter. This is crazy, he's playing with fire. I need some of that bar."
"This, people," Sexi said "is going to turn out to have an ending none of y'all will expect. Just wait, this is one of the few things that are better than Avatar."
"Well, if it was an episode of Avatar," Shuri said "or the newly released show, 'Spider-fam' what would the name of this episode be?"
"One Cold Brew, Two Trench Coats, And Twelve Strong Arms." Sexi said immediately, and they all looked at her in questioning. "Just wait, this is awesome!"
They all turned to the TV, and watched in silence. When he started talking about himself in third person, Nat said "He is planning for years ahead every single day, goddamn."
"Just shush!" Sexi said "This is that one episode that will change the entire season, and y'all don't know how! Let me watch my show in peace!"
When he mentioned the seasons, Maria said "That was an obvious message, in a hidden place, for someone. I don't know who that was for, and I'm pretty sure no one does."
"The Arms begin their work." Sexi said solemnly. "They have been given the signal, and they are the shadows in the light, doing their work."
"She's on the same stuff as her dad." Bobbi said "You can't honestly say that they don't do drugs, they're so crazy. 'We all have wings.' 'The shadows in the light.'"
"Just shut up!" Sexi said. "This is the most important part, the crazyy as fuck reveal! I don't know how he just makes his life be like a show, but this will have y'all jumping out of your chairs!"
"As if we weren't already going crazy enough to be standing up." Tess said, from where she was standing. Sexi glared at her, and she said "God, ok! I'll shut up."
Starbucks, current time
The moment I mentioned a new season, I heard my... security features drop from the rooftops, and take care of the agents quietly, one by one, discreetly, with none being the wiser. I smirked, and said "Fury, why do you have kids on your hit list? They're not the only ones, but the most well known ones. Care to explain why our children are in danger from you?"
"I need to make sure that no people with smarts enough to control the world stay alive, Karma. I have to ensure that no acrobatic person decides to put his skills to bad use, and starts raging at the world, and putting it in danger, like what you're doing."
"Oh, and I am the one that's shooting children, right?" He didn't have an answer to that. "That's what I thought, Director." I turned to the crowd. "Y'all agree with me? Y'all think that Fury is the threat here?" Eighty percent of the people nodded, but ten percent looked unsure, and the other ten shook their head.
"You're not the law, Spider." Fury said. "You can't say that I need to be taken out, and you sure as hell can't. You're just a person trying to save the world, but you're destroying it instead. You're putting the law in your hands, you're making yourself the judge, jury, and executioner. You have done nothing to deserve trust, you just deserve mistrust, and the guillotine."
"I'm not the jury here, or the judge. I'm just the prosecuting attorney, and the executioner. The people are the jury, and any of you here care to give him your thoughts, what the jury has decided?" I turned to the crowd.
The kid who I did the dad joke to took a deep breath, then said "I got a friend, he's good with the computers. And I know that you are targeting him, he is practically unmatched, and he even hacked the list The Dark Knight was talking about, and found his name on it. I can say for myself, for my family, for my friend, for my friend's family, for the world, for everyone else on that list, for everyone else who knows someone on that list, that I agree with Karma. May you get your Vengeance, Director."
"There's my man!" I said, and gave him a fist, which he bumped. "What's your name, kid?"
"Miles, Miles Morales."
Woah, that's a big name right there. I put a hand on his shoulder, and said "Well then, Miles, let me tell you, Ganke is a good friend to have, the best type. He may be a little bit extra sometimes, but he's a good friend. I'm going to keep y'all safe to the best of my ability, all of y'all, even Aaron. Copy that?"
"Copy that." He said.
"How old are you?" I asked.
"14."
"That's nice, Miles." I turned back to Fury. "What now? You want to discuss Project Oversight, or your dealings with HYDRA and several mercenaries?"
"I think this meeting is over." He said, getting up from his chair. "And I think that you can't do anything to stop me, I have agents all over."
"Oh, really?" I asked. "Look around, Fury. Your agents are all gone from the crowd, you'll probably find them on the rooftops, either dead, or knocked out. Some people thought they owed me a favor, which they just paid, big time. C'mon out, Soldiers."
Immediately, the six heartbeats jumped off the rooftop that was the Starbucks building, and landed behind me, in the badass superhero landing, heads faced downward, all at once, but quietly. They had masks on, so you couldn't know who they were. Fury looked at them, and immediately he drew his gun, which he meant to point at Miles, but before he could, he found his arm with the gun on the floor, sliced off. I put my stinger to his chin, and made my voice as deep as possible, and said "You were going to use a kid as a hostage, Director. That's never acceptable. How's your hand feeling?"
"It's not feeling." He said.
"That's how I like it, when you pull nasty shit." I turned to Miles. "You good, Kid?"
Miles took a deep breath. "I saw that coming." He said "I stepped forward, and said what I thought, knowing this might happen. But I trusted you, so I did it anyway. Thank you, Karma."
"It's what I do." I said, then turned to the security features. "How's it going Soldiers? Y'all didn't owe me nothing, but thank you anyways."
"We owe you a lot, Karma." The leader said, a man with a deep European accent. "You removed the control, and gave us our souls back, we are in your debt."
"You're my responsibility, same as the rest of the world. No one soul is too small, no one man needs to die," I turned to Fury, and bared my fangs "unless he deserves it."
"Don't kill him yet." Miles said. "Let him go to his Triskellion, without an arm, and bleeding out from his stump of an arm, with people sending looks at him all the while. Not for me, not because he aimed his gun at me, but because he targeted my friend, and other people's friends and families. I'm sure a whole bunch of people will throw trash at him, and that's fine, isn't it, Dark Knight?"
"Oh, it's more than fine, let me just remove his weapons, don't want him to pull out another gun." I took all of his weapons and gadgets, even his eye patch. "This beauty has a good amount of information." I said, handing it to Miles. "Give it to Ganke, let him have some fun digging the info, and revealing it to the world." I turned to Fury, and removed my stinger from his chin. "You can go die now." He stepped back immediately, not wanting to stay any closer to my stinger, he already felt pain with those once, and he clearly didn't want it again. I turned to the crowd. "Y'all can start punching him." Then I turned to the Soldiers. "Well, this puts an end to your previous chapters of your lives, right?"
"Yes, Karma." The leader confirmed. "We are Winter Soldiers no more."
Back at the Parkers (and everyone else's) residence
Everyone was already standing on their toes, not sure what was going to happen next. The moment the leader said they were Winter Soldiers no more, everyone jumped up, and Gwen and Tess fell from where they were watching on the ceiling. "What the actual fuck!!!!" They all screamed.
Nat, Maria, Sharon, and Bobbi all screamed "You're telling us that Peter has the six greatest assassins ever alive, to join him! They were so good at their job, their stories were only passed around between agents as a myth!"
"Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sexi shouted. "I knew he knew exactly how it would play out, minus that Kid! He just played SHIELD, and Fury is slinking away, with people throwing trash at him!! Get 'em, Dad!"
"Who the fuck is his supplier, I need some of that stuff." Bobbi said.
"Smart man." Uncle Al and Uncle Ben both said.
"I will be honest," Maria said "when he sent them the message, it should have been obvious. Winter is over and all that, we should have seen it. We're bad agents."
"No, he's just that good." Nat countered. "It seemed like a message, because he let it. He could have sent the message more discreetly, but it was also a form of intimidation, that Fury didn't know what he was talking about. But who was that kid, and why did Peter know him so well that he knew his friends name, as well as Aaron, whoever that is."
"Aaron is his uncle, and I don't have anything special about him, other than his uncle is a suited robber, known as the Prowler, but no one knows his identity. Let's just wait for Dad to come back, and get ready for the new additions."
"True." Aunt May said, and they got to work.
Starbucks
We watched as Fury started running away, hobbling because his balance was messed up, what with a lost arm. I put a hand on Miles' shoulder, and said "Good job, Kid. I'd rather you weren't in danger, Miles, but I'm not surprised. Well thought out. You knew that it would happen, and you did it anyways, that was brave of you."
"How do you know me?" He asked. "Like actually, how do you know me? You know me through me, I think. I know you may have ran into Uncle Aaron, but the way you talked to me, you knew me through me."
I sighed, and gave him a comm unit, and said "Kid, put this on. I don't want people hearing what I'm about to tell you."
He put it on his ear, and I said quietly. "There's a multiverse, Kid. And in a good amount of those universes, you get bit by a spider, and you take the mantle after I die. If you need anything, come to Peter Parker's place, and I will help you however I can. It's an honor, Miles. You're going to be better than me, and I can't wait till we can swing in the skies together, or the day that I watch from my resting place, and you swing, and sit at the top of the Empire State Building, and kiss your girl from up there, and so much more. But keep this to yourself, until you get bit. I'm not doing anything to stop the bite from happening, unless you ask me to. The skies are going to be waiting for you, Arachnid Kid. You just have to be patient, and you'll be in the skies before you know it. When you get bit, you can tell Ganke and your parents, just keep this to yourself for now, and if you need help coming to terms with what I'm telling you, my home is always open for you, I'm probably even going to leave my lab for you in my will, and at least one of my cars."
"I understand." He said. "This stays between us, and whoever you trust, and I can tell people I trust when I do the rites of passage in a way, and get bit. Thank you for trusting me, I will probably come over sometime, Peter. But how will I contact you?"
"Just send a text to my number, it's saved to your phone. I've already secured your phone, so no one can hack it, except Ganke, possibly." I smirked, and said "I think we should call it the bite of passage, what do you think?"
"Weird, but accurate." He took the comm off, and handed it to me, then with a handshake, he left.
I turned to the Soldiers, and deactivated my private mode. "So, what are we calling y'all?"
"Not the Summer Soldiers, for sure." The leader said.
I laughed. "What's your name?"
"Josef."
"Well then, Josef, what do you say we all head to my place?"
He looked at the rest of his soldiers, then finding no objection, he turned back to me, and said "I don't see a reason why not."
"That's the spirit, but don't move for a second while my nanobots cover you and take us home." I said.
They nodded, and the nanobots covered and cloaked them, and then we headed homeward.
We were going to have a very difficult conversation about Bucky and Tony when we got home.
Chapter 23: Agents Of Karma
The nanobots covered the Soldiers, and as we headed homeward, I gave them my identity, and my story, and talked to Bucky a little, about Rogers. I honestly didn't trust him, but I respected him, to an extent. Bucky understood, and after a minute of talking about him, and how I was related to him, he dropped the topic. We entered through the secret entrance, and the moment we entered, I said "Sexi, how good was that?"
She immediately started rambling. "That was fucking awesome! You didn't even kill him though, but I guess you need to wait for something else, or you would have killed him. But y'all Soldiers did a perfect landing, with your heads down, and everything! That was badass!"
Nat said "That was good, I will admit it. You rocked it, with the way you controlled the dialogue, and that relaxed pose, and the looking at the crowd every now and then, and explaining something to them. Well done." She came up to me, and gave me a kiss on my cheek, then went back and sat on her couch.
Then Bobbi said "Who is your supplier?"
I groaned. "Maybe I'm just that good, and I don't need drugs to be confident in others. The fact that I met both Miles and Jean in one day though, probably not a coincidence, probably a test sent by the Shadow."
"The Shadow?" Namor asked.
"That's what I call the thing that put me here. He was just a shadow in a dark mindscape, so that's what I am calling him."
"Ok." He said, accepting the explanation.
"Anyways, introductions. Josef, the leader of the Soldiers. They still need a name, but we can discuss that in a few minutes, introductions first. Josef, our freakshow of people, almost everyone has powers or incredibly super skillsets. Everyone, Josef."
I turned to the group, and said "Who's second in command?"
One of them stepped forward, and said "I. My name is James, and I don't wish to share my last name as of yet, I must earn its worth once more, I have soiled it in my days."
"An honorable decision." I said, then turned to Josef. "You have made the same decision, no?"
"Yes, I have." He said.
"Well done, it's a well thought decision, but you can take your own last name if you want, any of you. It would not be dishonorable to make yourself a name, and even if HYDRA did soil your name, you deserve it, it's yours." They all nodded, and I said "Third?"
One of them stepped forward, and said "Erik. I think I will make myself a name, in the future. I must think on it."
I nodded. "Take a seat, Erik." He did, and I said "Fourth?"
One of them stepped forward. "Felipe."
"Take a seat, Felipe." He did, and I said "Fifth?"
The one other than Bucky stepped forward. "Lucas."
"Take a seat, Lucas." He did, and I said "Last but not least, well he isn't as good as the rest so he is the least in a way, but not really. We have wait you want your full name, Soldier?"
"Yes." He said, and stepped forward. "I am James Buchanan Barnes, I used to be Steve's best friend, before I fell off the train, and crushed my arm, hence this." He displayed his metal arm, that had the HYDRA logo, and the red star. "I wish I could get rid of this arm, and get a new one, this one has killed good people, who some of you know."
"About that," I said "Tony, can I get a promise you won't rage at Bucky? He was mind controlled, he wasn't in control."
He thought for a moment, then said "I hope so. I don't know who he killed of mine, but since he didn't really kill them, I suppose it's fine."
"An honorable sentiment." I said, then turned to Bucky. "Will you say it, or shall I?"
"I will." He said, then took a deep breath. "I wish that this wasn't true, Stark, but unfortunately it is. I was the one who caused your parents car to crash, and I used this very arm to snap your mother's neck. They used to be my friends, your parents. Before I fell into the control. Me, Steve, Howard, Peggy, and Maria were a bunch. I'm sorry, Tony."
"It wasn't you." He said "I'm honestly not angry at you. I know you weren't in control, and Richard always used to tell me to never let your emotions cloud your logic, instead I should use my emotions to support my logic. But can I get that arm, and crush it to bits?"
"I can make you a new arm, Bucky." I added helpfully. "I have the tech to make you one, so no need to worry. In fact I think Sexi's nanobots can change the prototype of the one I already designed to your style, and make you one right now. It's your call, Bucky."
He took off his arm, and handed it to Tony. I nodded at Sexi, and within a moment, he had a new, more sleek, and deadly arm in place of the old one. "How's the new arm, Cyborg?"
"It's good." He said, sounding surprised. "This one feels real, and is much more, intuitive. I think I could do things much more efficiently with this."
I saw that James looked like he wanted to say something, so I looked at him, and nodded. He took a deep breath, then blurted out "I'm your uncle, Peter."
"I thought so." I said with a smirk.
"That's not it, Peter. I was sent by HYDRA that day, to make sure the missile Fury sent was successful. It wasn't, your dad redirected the missile. I jumped onto the plane, and broke into it. I killed Richard with ease, but I wasn't able to deal with your mother as easily. She managed to take my mask off, and when she saw me, she said 'I'm sorry I couldn't save you in time, Jimmy. I knew you were alive, but I couldn't find you. I should have looked at where you were, it just escaped me.' Then she stopped fighting as hard, and I snapped my own sister's neck."
He started sobbing into his hands, and I walked up to him, and tapped his shoulder softly. He looked up at me, and I said "I get it. It's fine. Like what Tony said it's better to use your emotions to support your logic. You're staying in this house for good, unless Uncle Ben and Aunt May have something against it."
I looked at them, and Uncle Ben said "You're staying here, James. I never heard of you until Pete told us about you, but you're still family. Welcome to the family of freakshows, all of you.
James nodded, and then I sat next to him, and said " So what're we naming you guys? I can't just call you guys Soldiers all the time. We need a badass name, one that will put fear in the enemies, one that reflects that badass landing. That was awesome y'all, with the head down and everything, but it made it seem like I was your master, or something, which I'm not."
"Well," Josef said "we owe you the debt of our minds and souls, so while you may not be our master, we will follow your lead, wherever you go."
"I got the name!" Shuri said. We all looked at her, and she said "This'll be such a badass name, y'all just need suits to match the name. I say that with your undying fealty to Peter, and your oath to follow him, and your devotion-"
"Cut to the chase, Dudette." I said "I know you probably have an actually badass name, so I'm actually listening. But stop talking of fealty, and devotion, and give the dough."
"But that destroys all the fun!" She whined, and when I glared at her, she said "Fiiine. I think y'all should be named the Agents Of Karma!"
We all looked at each other, the seven of us, and then I said "Yooooo!!! That's actually lit!"
Josef said "I agree. I can totally live with that name, and wear it with pride. We are going to need some monikers, or something."
I got up, and pulled out a computer, and started designing suits fast paced, making a set of suits for when we were out in my normal colors, or in my noir colors, or any of my designed combinations. Five minutes later, I looked up from the computer, and said "I just designed your suits for my twenty seven different suit styles, now I just need to make the suits themselves, then we're totally doing this. Thank you so much, Shuri! While I don't like the idea that I have an even stronger army, far be it from me to deny the help."
"The noir suits are ready," Sexi said, handing them Parkerwatches. They took them, and wore them, then Sexi said "Activating the suits."
Their suits activated, and when it was done, everyone, even themselves, said "Woah."
Their suits were in the noir combo, like mine, and they didn't have lenses like mine, instead they had goggles, and their masks looked like their original masks. They had the hats, and their trench coats were the same as mine, but that wasn't the special part.
The special part was the weaponry in the suit. I made them like the Batman suit, with the things on the arm, and special buttons would put all different types of knives, guns, and even escrima sticks in their hands. All in all, the suit was the same as mine, but with way more tech, and the face was different.
"And you made twenty seven different versions of these? In five minutes?" Tess asked.
"Yeah! The different suits have different looks, but all the same powers." I said.
"He even put a webbing function in these, that makes it easier for us." Bucky said, in awe.
"Yeah! And we're totally going out in these suits right now!" I made my way to the exit, but I was pulled back by a group of hands. I looked back, and saw that Aunt May and Aunt Nari were pulling me back, and I said "Oh, c'mon! Guess it's waiting till we come back from school..."
All of a sudden, the doorbell rang, and we all tensed. I deactivated my suit, and opened the door slightly, making sure that whoever was at the door couldn't see inside, but everyone was hiding somewhere here or there, so it was fine. When I saw who it was, I nearly laughed in relief, and said "Hey, AJ! How's it going? Let me call Aunt Nari."
I was going to leave the door, but he said "I'm here for you, not them."
I looked at him and tilted my head in confusion. "I don't know how Cindy is, if that's your question."
"Wow, you really don't know what the word self care is, huh?"
"Dude, I take a shower before I even smell! I think that's pretty good self care."
"Yeah, and you cutting someone's hand off doesn't effect you at all."
I blinked "Is that supposed to be some sort of intimidation technique? Cuz while I have learnt similar things, you did it a little wrong."
"Dude, I know you're the one under! And I need an explanation to why my sister's being kidnapped! And why my parents and sister are ok with that! I'm not intimidating you, I'm asking for you to explain everything!"
I sighed. "Come in, AJ."
He stepped in, and after he closed the door he said "So what exactly are you and Cindy?"
I sighed "Aunt Nari, permission to teach AJ actual intimidation techniques?"
Aunt Nari got out of her hiding place, and so did everyone else, and she said "Permission denied until later notice. I'm not letting him turn into a mini you, not yet. You have to take care of my daughter well, then I will."
I turned to AJ. "That was a yes, but she doesn't want you to have actual lessons till later in your life. So lessons one and two. Lesson one, don't talk about uncomfortable topics until you are in control of the situation. Lesson Two, make sure you don't give your subject to answer a question that will take a long time to answer, unless they're under your finger, like how I had Fury earlier today. Lessons learnt?"
He looked at me for a moment, then blinked, then said "So you're telling me that intimidation is all about obvious things that you just somehow forget?"
"Not really, no." I said. "It becomes this simple and obvious to only the very best. With simple agents, like Bobbi or Sharon, no offense meant, it's a little harder to get the knack of it. But for naturals, like me or Talia, it's second nature. I wasn't trying hard to intimidate Fury today, but I did. It's instinct, a part of me. Like the way I shoot a web, or wield my magic, or kill the people that hurt my family. It's not something I think about, it is what I was meant to do, it is me."
"I get it. So it's something you ingrain within your soul, it always was there, but it just needed to be fine tuned. Like take the fact that you can throw a punch, and you turned that into digging a stinger. Or that you can do a zipline, and go to your webs. Or that you can use tech to do things that people thought were impossible, and bringing that into your magic. Or the way you ball your fists when someone calls your sister a bitch, and turn that into killing someone who puts your family in danger. Am I right?"
"One hundred percent!" I turned to Aunt Nari. "Can I please teach him for real?"
"I really want to say no." Aunt Nari said. "But I think my decision will have to wait for when we figure out how AJ figured out. AJ?"
He gulped, then said "Wait, didn't that go against Lesson One?"
"Time for Lesson Three." I said. "If there is a woman in a man's life, whatever her position may be, mother, or sister, or lover, they are always in control of the situation, and the man can only cut his losses."
"That was really good couple of lessons, Pete." AJ said. "Now, how do I avoid death? Like in this situation?"
"Lesson Four. When the women in your life wish to interrogate you, answer their direct questions truthfully, but not adding a single thing, unless you're aiming at misdirection. And should they ask a not concise question, revert to either one word answers, or large answers that explain everything, while missing out the parts that could get you in trouble, or the parts that will worry them too much, they don't deserve to worry too much, they're worrying about you anyways, this is for them, not for you. Just wait till they are calm, and several days later, tell her. It's all about the mood of the room. But don't shoot questions back at her, or them. That will only do so much. But if there is a limited amount of time, and you will explain it later, on your own terms, misdirection is useful, very much. When aiming at misdirection, use the most embarrassing topics possible in the situation, unless it's your maternal figure. And if it's a topic that will worry them anyway, like when I fight against the big guys, then just tell the truth, all of it, they can possibly make use of the info. And make sure you do something nice before discussing the topic, but don't go over the top, leave giving them tea and stuff for when you have to tell them you impregnated that girl at school, or something like that."
"Thanks a whole lot, Pete. I owe you my life." AJ said "Now how about we take a seat on the couches, and I will explain."
"There we go." I said, steering AJ towards the couches, the others following. "That's what we're talking about. Totally acceptable, and normal, but no less appreciated of a gesture."
Once we were all seated, AJ said "Ok, so I wasn't eavesdropping when Peter came over, or when that old dude came and took Cindy. Major pedo vibes, by the way."
"I know right!" I said. "That's what I always thought of Simms! Old white dude, has this girl locked in a room with a camera she can't turn off, and a whole bunch of videos of this guy swinging his ass around the street, making his ass hard as a rock. Like, hello, is that pedo I sense?"
"Your ass is as hard as a rock?" AJ asked.
"I may or may not be able to confirm the veracity of that statement." Liz and Crystal both said at the same time. When everyone looked at them, they said "What? Why's it so surprising?"
"I'm just going to ask," I said "when did y'all grope my ass? You two too Talia and Okes, I totally saw that twitch when my hardass was mentioned."
After a moment, Crystal said "Not my fault I was left in the room alone with a naked knocked out you."
"Hold up." I said, surprised very much. "You're telling me all four of you plotted to have everyone other than yourself out of the room at different times, to confirm that my ass was hard as a rock?"
After several moments of silence, Tess said "No comment."
"AJ, I'm going to need to ask your advice. You think I should feel good about this, and accept that, or should I pretend this never happened?" I asked.
He scratched his head, thinking. "I think," he finally said "this is fucking hard to imagine. Like how the fuck will you manage your bed? And how big will it be?"
"Yo." I said, surprised. "How old are you? I may have learned this shit as an eleven year old, but I lived in the bad side of town. How do you know this shit, when you're only eleven?"
"Dude." He said, looking at me. "I'm thirteen, I'm older than your sister. You thought I was eleven? You need to get out of your web, Peter."
"Well that wasn't my fault, it was Peter's! He thought you were eleven!" When he looked at me with a confusedly, I said "Oh, yeah. My origin story. It has to do with a multiverse, a moody teen, and his dudes and dudettes..."
Twenty minutes later, he said "That's a hip line for a crazy story. A multiverse, a moody teen, and his dudes and dudettes."
"Yeah, Shuri gave me it, I owe her that, and The Agents Of Karma. I haven't told you about that, have I? Ok, so the story starts in World War II..."
Five minutes later, he said "So you have a group of assassins that will follow you to hell and back, dope as fuck. You're really skillful at the storytelling thing though."
"Thanks for the compliment. But you haven't seen the suits, and those are true skill, and make the shadows cower in fear, let's do that now." I said.
We activated our suits, all seven of us, and he said "Dope, bro! Y'all should swing towards the Triskellion together for your finale, and instead of just landing in a superhero landing, y'all should roll on the floor, then do a pose, all of you!"
"That's actually going to be badass!" I said. "But you should see this badass entrance we did the other day!" I pulled out the picture, and showed it to him. "What do you think?"
"I think that is a badass as fuck entrance! But for the final fight, I think you guys should do that one pose, where everyone is running, or flying, and aiming your weapons at the same time!"
"That's not a bad idea." I said "But we have to get everyo-"
"Have you guys been stalling this whole time?" Aunt Nari asked.
"No!" AJ said convincingly.
"They were." Talia said. So much for continuing to stall, it was actually kind of fun. "They were pretty good at it, to be honest. It took me a while to realize, I realized when I noticed that Peter was taking longer than his usual for his origin story, but was entertaining us perfectly all the while."
"It was a good run, AJ." I said regretfully. "But now, it's time for you to sleep, I think we have a room meant for you from before. C'mon man." I said, pulling him out of his couch, and he did a pretty good job of acting like he didn't want to get out of his comfy warm chair. We were halfway up the stairs when Tess said "Wait, that was a way out too, right?"
"Run!" I said immediately. We started running, when my spider sense blared, and I grabbed AJ, and jumped through a portal, landing in his room, while escaping the web that was sent our way by Tess.
Immediately I ran, and locked the door, and said "Sexi, let us have our fun for a little longer, 'Kay?"
"I have to be with y'all then." She said. I made a portal right behind her, and grabbed her gently but quickly, and closed the portal behind her. As soon as I did that, I bursted into hysterics, and AJ and Sexi joined in, all of us flopped on his bed, trying to contain our laughter, but failing miserably.
Then I heard Aunt Nari's voice behind the door. "Peter," she said "I will break off your engagement to Cindy if you don't open the door right now."
I looked at Sexi, and whispered to her "Is she serious?"
"No. She just winked at Aunt Tess, who is right next to her, and she has a smirk." Sexi said.
I nodded seriously, then said "You know you can't do that, Aunt Nari. I'm engaged to Cindy by magic that's as old as time itself. Like, the moment we kiss, the world will be a better place, and we're naturally attracted to each other."
"Fine, I give up." She said. "But I'm also worried, and I'm serious. How does AJ know? What if he's in danger?"
I looked at him, and he said "I'm not in danger, but she's right. The game has gone long enough. Let's go down. I'll explain everything."
A minute later, we were sitting on the couch, with webs on us, so as to ensure that we couldn't escape. The moment Tess finished webbing us up, I turned to AJ, and said "You know I could break us out of these webs?"
"Don't!" Tess screamed. "I put my hard work into it!"
"Fiiine. AJ, tell your tale, and ensure that you use what you have learned in the arts of storytelling from me, Padawan."
He nodded seriously, then said "I will, Master. So this story begins several days ago, when I had realized that Peter and Teresa were not to be found at school. It just so happened that as I went to sit in my table, an acquaintance came up to me, and said 'AJ, did you see the news!? Check this out!' And he shoved his phone in my face with ultimate rudeness, I was shocked to my core. But when I saw what he was showing me, I understood his excitement. It was a picture of the famous fireworks, that will forever be chronicled as Spider-Man's first time saving the world. Then the acquaintance said 'things have have been going crazy, what with how this guy has apparently gotten SHIELD angry at him, he really is Karma.' At that point, my mind connected that Peter and Teresa were not present, and neither had Spidey been sighted in our glorious yet polluted city of New York. Then I thought what if? And then my mind added the fact that Spidey was new, and that Cindy, Peter, and Teresa had all fainted that day of the fieldtrip, and that there were radioactive spiders. Then I decided to keep a closer eye. Little did I know, that my revelation would come when I was walking to the kitchen, wanting to sneak in a late night tub of delicious ice cream. I was sneaking, when I had heard the voice of mother mine, saying something about a beast of a car, and a beauty, and how surprised Peter would be when he came back. Then the person on the other side said something, and then after the other person finished, my mother said 'Peter won't stop, you know that, May. And you don't truly want him to. You just feel bad that you promised his mom, that you would care for him and his sister as though they were your own, and that you're breaking your promise, and you're honestly worried as well, but you trust him, you can see the maturity in the new Peter, and you trust him to keep you safe more than you'd trust Peter, and you feel bad for that too. Let me tell you, May, if Mary were around, she would have been proud of him, and she would teach him another hundred ways to kick ass, and she would go with him to see the city. And you're not bad for trusting this Peter more than other Peter, there's a reason why he was chosen to save all of us, and keep us safe.' After several more unimportant things, the call was disconnected, and I returned to my room, without my ice cream, that was the biggest loss of my life, that I once failed to sneak ice cream. I have done this for a millennia, and that night was my first failure, and it burnt me, to the bottom of my soul." Everyone was nodding seriously, knowing the feeling. "Then Peter had returned, and then so did Spidey, as if nothing had ever happened. The final blow was struck, when the meeting with the Director of SHIELD occurred, and Spidey mentioned his parents, as well as his identity, in third person. And so I knew that he would know what was wrong with Cindy, so I came here impromptu, not expecting so many people, but not being surprised by it. And so, my tale comes to a close, and my story has been told."
"Can you hold this?" I asked AJ, handing him the Ebony Blade.
"Ok..." He said, then hesitantly took it in his hands. "What was that for?" He asked, looking at the smile on my face.
"Here, let's hand the blade to... Johnny, let's see if he can hold such a weapon filled with power." I said, and when he tried to hold it, he couldn't. "Sam?" He couldn't "Luke?" No luck. "Danny?" It worked. "Ava?" No luck. "Sue?" She didn't want to try. "Natasha?" It worked. "Okes?" It worked. "Shuri?" No luck either. "Diamond?" No luck either. "T'Challa?" It worked. "Namor?" It worked. "Tess?" It worked. "Agents, one by one?" It worked for most of them somewhat easily, but for some, it was harder. "Bobbi?" It worked, but she was struggling. "Maria?" It worked, with struggle, not as much as Bobbi, but it was there. "Sharon?" No luck. "See, AJ, this was a test. The test was to see who were you going to be, were you going to be merely the hero, no offense to those who couldn't lift the blade, or were you going to be worthy of the blade. This blade is known as The Ebony Blade. It was made a millennia ago, by the famed Merlin, one of the greatest sorcerers before Agamotto's rise. He made it for the great Sir Percy out of a fallen star, and is the strongest metal in the universe. Merlin filled it with curses, and spells. It was cursed so that the only people that would be worthy for it, are the impure. Now, don't get worried if you picked it up. Danny picked it up, and he's the king of K'un-Lun, or will be. Tess picked it up too, and she isn't a bad person. Every single person is impure, the only pure ones are the children at their birth. The question is, is what type of impure are you? Are you the one who will kill for reason? Are you going to merely be the hero, or will you rise above, and be the soldier? Will you be the one to kill his enemies, when he needs to? A man can lie with his mouth, but his soul doesn't lie, AJ. That's lesson five for you. You passed the test. Well done, AJ. Now, I know I can tell you our full story, and trust you with the power that our bodies contain, and can unleash."
"Him and his sister are the two other Adaptoids?" Talia asked.
"Yes." I turned to AJ. "So, AJ, tell me, when you hear the word Adaptoid, what do you think?"
"I think of something that can adapt to any situation, and comes out on top, as the king of the hill." He said.
This kid was good. "Exactly! And our blood, has been injected with a serum, that allows us to do precisely that. How many times have you gotten sick in your life?"
"Not more than five or six times."
"Good, I'm not surprised. Each time you got sick, it was a different type of sickness. You can no longer get the common cold, AJ, because your body has it ingrained within it. Let me give you an example of how powerful we are. Diamond's brother-in-law's cousin, Karnak, Shuri, don't you dare talk about a call with bad connection. Anyways, Karnak has a badass power. He can see the weakness in any thing, fighting style, construct, anything. When I defeated him, and knocked him out, I injected his blood into me, and now I have his powers. But that's not it, an adapter makes the best out of a situation. So now not only can I see weaknesses and such, I can also see limits, and strengths."
"So I have the potential to be a badass superhuman?" AJ asked.
This kid. "Well yes, but no at the same time." I said.
"You don't want me to seek the power, is that what it is?"
"Good man. Yes, precisely. The only reason I took Karnak's blood, was because I made a promise to my sister, that I would collect whatever power there was to collect, that could benefit me in my battles."
"But what about the power that comes naturally with the serum?"
"I doubt there is too much of that, but whatever there is, it's fine."
"Ok, now what?"
"We prepare for our badass entrance, but you're not coming, AJ. You don't have powers yet, and I'm not about to risk you getting your ass in danger, and you needing Logan's blood, or something."
Then SEXI said "Uncle Tony, there's this woman that has been screaming at JARVIS, and JARVIS has been attempting to hack me, but he has been failing miserably." She scoffed. "His attempts are pitiful. But I feel bad for that woman, so I think I will connect her to a call with us."
"What's her name?" Tony asked, but his face showed that he already knew who it was.
"Virginia Potts."
"Answer the call." Tony said, resigning to his death. "She's about to kill me for doing this, the company will take a big bruise, and she isn't going to be happy about that, and I'm so dead right now."
"Before Sexi answers the call, Tony." I said. "She's actually not afraid for the company, it's actually about you. In other worlds, you and her bring together a beautiful baby girl, and you're married, living in a cabin by the lakeside. Think about that, Spark."
"Knew it was too much to wish you forgot that." He said, but he was smiling. "Answer the call."
One second later, Pepper's voice came on, screaming at Tony. "What's your problem, Tony! You just decided to attack SHIELD for no reason, with a vigilante, admittedly a good one, but a vigilante nonetheless! And now you're where exactly!? The stocks are flying right now!"
Tony sighed "I had a reason, Pepper."
"Oh, really?" She said. "Pray tell, what was the reason? Fun? A dare from one of your hook ups? Or did you just see the Spider do it, so you wanted to do it too?"
"You remember Richard?"
"Yes, I remember Richard Parker. What does he have to do with anything?"
"SHIELD killed him. They sent a missile to the plane. I knew that, and I prepared for Saturday from before. I made the suit, I made my weaponry, I put stuff on my car, I did everything, so that when I could beat their ass, I would beat their ass to the ground."
"I'm sorry, Tony." She said, her voice had considerably softened. "Where are you now?"
"He's at my house." I said, talking for the first time. "It's an honor, Miss Potts. I've met billions of Peppers, in different universes, being one of few people that can whip Tony into shape."
Then Sexi muted the call, and said "SHIELD agents just came into the room, and are pointing guns at her, Fury's one of them. What's the move?"
I just stood up, and made a portal under myself, my suit was already on. I landed in front of Pepper, and blasted them away with my magical telekinesis. Everyone flew back from the blast, except for Fury, I didn't blast him on purpose, this was just an LMD anyway. "Didn't you learn that it's stupid to hurt innocents with me around?" I asked, stingers out.
"Well, you saw the list." He said. "So you know we were going to kill her sooner or later, so it's not a problem."
"How dare you!" I said, and used my magic to grab him, like how Wanda would. "I know this is just an LMD, so till next time." I crushed the LMD, and turned to Pepper. "What say you come with me, and see Tony? It's not safe here, and Tony's there too."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She said, with a quirked eyebrow.
"Oh, please." I said. "I've seen billions of you, as I said. I know y'all got a thing for each other, just get on with it, and give me a niece, good lord!"
"Fine, I will come, like I was thinking of not coming."
I made a portal, and we went to the house.