The bus pulled up to the middle of a quiet little town that seemed to be filled with people out and about enjoying the fresh healthy air. There were a group of cyclists coming around and kids running around as the bus came to a stop before a small wooden bus station.
"Alright everyone, ten minutes for bathroom and snacks and then we're heading back on the road!" one of the teacher called out as the other almost teleported out the front, crying for the bathroom.
"We'll talk after the bus starts again," I tell Peter in a low whisper, dismissing the sound ward around us, "keep the glasses close, I don't know what they really are but they are clearly important."
"Right, got it," Pete nodded as he got up and walked out, the glasses hanging off his collar.
I quickly walked to Hope and leaned over her seat, "you good Princess?"
"Daddy! Look what I can do!" Hope cried holding out her hands and between her fingers were red threads in the shape of a cat's cradle.
"Wow, did you do that yourself?" I asked, my eyes going wide.
"Yup! Michelle showed me!" Hope gushed.
"It was nothing, she's just really quick," Michelle commented, smiling at me before looking out the window, frowning. I followed her eyes and spotted Peter, he was heading to another part of the rest stop than the others, something was off.
"Hope honey, you need to use the bathroom?" I asked.
"Hmm, yeah," Hope nodded, pulling her digits free of the thread and pushing off her seat, "can I come back and play some more with Michelle?"
"I don't see why not," I replied, turning to the girl in question, "thanks a lot for playing with her, I think you're probably her favorite person in the world by now."
"No, no it's fine. I love kids," Michelle nodded.
"I can tell," I smiled, "come on Princess," I took Hope's hand and we quickly stepped out of the bus. I caught the eye of Dimitri and I smelled his caution. I was an unknown element and he was scared, good. By now Fury would have been informed about me, meaning my anonymity is a thing of the past.
I took Hope to the men's restroom and helped her to use one of the stalls there. Lucky bus stands in Europe don't seem to follow the stereotypes that American one's did as it was not only clean and neat but it was also very pleasant to be in.
God am I seriously being impressed by a bus stand restroom?
After washing her up Hope and I made our way back to the bus, just in time to see Peter burst out of the side door he went in five minutes ago, adjusting his pants, following one of his classmates.
"Brad! Brad wait I can explain!" Peter cried out.
"Peter, look, if you want to hook up with some random European babe during our class trip that's on you, I'm not judging," the kid reply with a smirk.
"Brad please, you cannot show the picture to MJ," Peter begged.
"Look Peter, it's obvious you like MJ, and truth be told I like her too. And she deserves to know the truth," the taller boy replied before hurrying away.
I raised an eyebrow, looked at Peter, hie eyes went open as he rushed to my side, "what happened?" I asked.
"It's Brad. H-he came in and took a picture of me with my pants down," Peter replied rapidly.
"Why were your pants down?"
"I-I was changing into my costume."
"What?! Why would you-oh never mind, did he see the suit?"
"No, but he's going to show that picture of MJ and he's going to ruin my chances with her, please you gotta help! Can you like, teleport his phone or something?!"
"Dude, relax," I patted his shoulder, "so what if Michelle sees a picture of you without your pants? Not only will that get you points, because let's face it, we look awesome without pants, it will also make that kid seam like a creep. Seems like a win-win to me."
"You don't understand!" Peter cried out, "there-there was another person in the room. A femaleagent of Fury's."
My eyes widened in understanding, "and if Michelle sees you without pants next to a, I assume beautiful woman, pantless, she might think the worst of you."
"Yeah..." Peter hung his head, "god, I started this trip out with a plan, but everything's just-just breaking apart."
I was about to reassure him that everything would be alright, promise to take care of it, but before I could, Hope stepped up and took Peter's hand in hers and squeezed.
Peter looked surprised as he looked up, meeting Hope's eyes. She replied in the kindest and most understanding voice a girl her age could make, "don't worry. My daddy's a hero! He can help!"
A smile came on his face as Peter looked up at me, "dude… your kid's awesome."
"Between you and me? She gets it from her mom," I grinned, turning to Hope, "Princess, you want to show Pete here your new trick that Michelle showed you?"
"Yeah!" Hope replied, her eyes growing wide as she grabbed Peter's hand and pulled him to the bus, "come on I'll show you! It's really cool! Do you know how to do it?"
"Ah, yeah," Peter turned to me, "but the picture"
"-I'll take care of it," I replied with a smile, "Hope honey, I don't think Peter here talks a lot to Michelle, so you need to introduce the two, okay?"
"Okay!" Hope chirped.
"Wait, my bag! I left it behind!" Peter pointed to the back room, just as a tall thin blonde woman came out, holding out said backpack. She threw it at him without blinking and Peter caught it easily, "t-thanks."
"That's who you were pictured with your pants down?" I asked, looking the woman over, leather pants and leather jacket, "you sure you want the picture gone?"
"Dude!" Peter cried out.
"Come on!" Hope cried out, "we're wasting time!" she then proceeded to drag him onto the bus, rushing to Michelle's side.
I turned to the obvious secret agent and waved, "Hi there! Lovely day isn't it?" She said nothing, simply crossing her hand and glaring with her coldest gaze. It would be intimidating, but I literally fought people who could break moons with their fists so she wasn't really all that scary.
But… I did smell something, something off. I immediately recognized it as the same scent I smelled back with Fury. It didn't feel right, like something was off. It was her, it had to be.
I sent out a mental probe and the moment it touches her mind's surface I knew what was wrong.
It wasn't a human mind.
There were particular neural patterns humans had that other species didn't. I knew from experience that the closest thing to a human mind aliens had were the people of Xandar, and even then you could tell the weren't 'normal'.
She's… something else.
'Who is he? Why is he here? Talos told me to report everything to him and yet I find nothing to report back. Something is off with this human.'
Talos...where did I hear that name? It's there in the tip of my...Skrull...shapeshifters. She's a shapeshifter. Which means Fury is in danger...wait, didn't I smell the same thing on him? Then that means he's also... oh dear Stan Lee this is so screwed up.
The woman broke her gaze and walked away. "Does this mean I won our staring contest?" I cried out, only to get silence in reply. I slowly walked back to the bus and got on, only my mind was filled with questions.
I passed by Peter sitting between Hope and Michelle, the two girls showing him in great detail how to make a cat's cradle. Michelle teasing him about clumsy finger while Hope just laughed, joining along.
I caught his gaze and he looked at the other kid, Brad, and sent a pleading look. Oh, right, the photo. I rolled my eyes, teenagers, am I right?
Brad was currently on his phone, I passed by his seat and turned around. He was looking at the photo he took off Peter and moving to hit the share button. Might as well get this over with.
I moved in from behind and pressed my fingertips against his neck and sent a jolt of electricity into his body, just enough to stun him unconscious. I grabbed his phone and quickly deleted the photo, after which I put the phone back in his pocket.
"Did Brad fall asleep?" one of the kids across the aisle asked.
I smiled, "Yes, it seems so. He looks cold though, does anyone have a blanket?"
"He could use mine!" one enthusiastic girl called out as she practically threw a woolen sheet at Bard's face. Looks like someone has a fan club.
I tucked the boy in and moved forward, sitting down in the free seat across Peter, Michele and Hope. Peter looked at Brad and then at me with a confused look.
'Did you-' he mouthed, pointing to the unconscious boy. I nodded before leaning against the window and sighing. Hope was occupied and so was Peter, maybe now I could finally catch some sleep.
I yawned and stretched my hands, tucking them underneath my armpits. Just as sleep finally seemed to great me though someone jumped into the seat next to mine. I looked and saw Flash inches away from my face with his camera on and pointed right at me.
"Are you Spider-man?" he asked again.
I looked at him and the camera, "are you livestreaming right now?"
"Yeah, so, are you?"
"No, I'm not Spider-man. And if you don't get that phone out of my face I will break it into a million pieces and then shove it right up your-" I stopped myself as I got a glimpse of Hope behind Flash. I sighed, fatherhood made me soft.
I rubbed my eyes and continued, "kid, listen. The truth is this, I love Spider-man, he saved my life, I dress up as him and that's it, understand? No if you'll excuse me I'm tired and need to rest."
"Yeah… okay," Flash replied as he got up, his camera still on me, "but, if you were Spider-Man, you would tell me right?"
"Yes kid, I would tell you," I rolled my eyes.
"Right,' Flash replied before walking away. I caught him taking a few pictures, which I pretended I didn't see, and put my full focus on trying to just get some rest. And soon enough, my heavy eyelids closed and world around me just seemed to fade away.
Several hours later in Prague:
"This is a nice place," I whistled as we walked into the hotel looking at the royal white and gold theme they seemed to be going for.
"So you-your going to be staying with us as well?" Peter's teacher asked.
"Yeah, like I said, travel company booked us together, so we'll be with you all for the whole trip," I smiled and winked, "don't worry, Hope and I won't be a problem."
"Oh, yes, that's good. Not that I think you're a problem," the man quickly replied, "it's just having a stranger accompany us on a trip with teenagers isn't very, ah- safe?"
"Well then next time how about we both book trips with a reliable travel agency huh?" I smiled, walking away and ending the conversation right then and there. Hope was in my arms, asleep. Apparently playing all day tuckered the poor girl out and she was out like a lamp an hour before we reached.
I spotted Ned and Peter off to one corner talking and I quickly approached. Using my advanced hearing I heard Ned speak, "-I'm still your guy in the chair."
"Yeah Ned, I know," Peter replied before spotting me. He cleared his throat and Ned quickly got the hint, shutting up, "so ah-well-"
"Did you tell him yet?" I asked Peter.
"No," Peter replied.
"Tell me what?" Ned asked, looking confused.
"Should I? I mean, I thought it was supposed to be a secret," Peter replied pointing to the two of us, "like, you know, totem secret?"
I shrugged, "honestly, I don't care. Just explain everything to him and make it quick, I'm guessing Mysterio is going to make him move here, dd Fury contact you yet?"
"He knows about Fury?" Ned asked.
"Ms. Hill called me," Peter said, ignoring Ned's clear confusion, "she told me put on an earpiece and await instructions."
I nodded, wondering to myself if Hill was also a Skrull. She had to be, of all the people in the world she knew Fury best, is she was human she would know Fury was replaced. Damn, just how deep does this secret invasion go?!
"Alright, I'll check and and then we'll talk," I nodded, turning to Ned's confused look, "and tell the poor boy everything before he blow a blood vessel."
"Right," Peter nodded, turning to his friend with a look of utter excitement, "you are not going to believe this."
"Dude, who is that guy?" Ned asked as Peter took him aside and began explaining everything.
I walked to the reception and quickly checked into the hotel, managing to get a room on the same floor as Middletown high. As I got myself booked I began thinking about the situation on hand.
I didn't realise it before, what with running on only a few hours of sleep, but right now this world was in the middle of a secret invasion. I remember it being a big thing in the comics because the Skrulls were bad people and all that, but in the MCU they are apparently not the bad guys, which honestly is less of a pain if true.
Last thing I need is a species full of shapeshifting aliens trying to conquer the galaxy. But could I trust them? I remember Carol telling me about them, it was some time ago but I remember.
How she helped them find a home, how the Tesseract played a big role in that and how in the end she found out they were nothing more than the refugees. While I respected the hero and always will, she can be, at times, navie.
Who's to say the Skrulls will always be the victims? Who's to say they don't want revenge for the way they were treated? Who's to say that one day they might turn the tables on everyone by playing the long game?
It was 'ifs' and 'buts' at this point, I know, but right now I need to find out if I can trust these Skrulls ...and I guess the only way to do that is to get involved and confront them.
After checking in I walked back to Peter and Ned, judging by the look of awe and confusion Ned was giving me, Peter told him everything.
I smiled and held out my hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you Ned, officially that is. I'm Peter Parker, from Earth… well, I'm not really sure. But, I am Spider-man."
"Oh my God this is so cool!" Ned cried out, looking like he was going to faint, "you're Peter? Another version of him? From another world?! That's so cool!"
"Maybe we should continue this conversation in my room later," I told Ned, eyeing Flash who noticed the yelling and was trying to figure out the reason, "make sure you bring those glasses Peter."
"Yup, come on," Peter practically dragged Ned away. I eyed Flash and quickly walked away, making me way to my room and quickly changing Hope's suit into something more breathable, tucking her into bed.
Just then Peter and Ned came running in, "sh!" I quickly hushed them, "quite, Hope's still asleep."
"Sorry," Ned replied as Peter quietly shut the door behind him.
I waved my hands and quickly placed a sound ward over my baby girl. I turned to them and nodded, "now we can talk."
"Is that magic?" Ned asked in shock, turning to Peter, "can you do magic?"
"No Ned," Peter replied, "I don't think I can."
"It's like any scientific subject," I shrugged, sitting down on the bed's corner, "takes time and effort but honestly, anyone can do it."
"So, you don't need to be born with magic? You can just learn it?" Ned asked, his eyes going wide.
I nodded, "pretty much. But it takes a lot out of you, trust me on this, you need a strong sense of character to wield magic."
"I have a strong sense of character, right Peter?" Ned asked his best friend.
"Yeah, you do," Peter nodded, before talking out the glasses, "I got them. Ms. Hill told me to meet her in ten minutes at a hotel across the road. What do we do?"
"Alright, first things first, put them on and activate them," I instructed.
Peter did so and frowned, "how do I-"
"-Card," I pointed to the note that came with the glasses.
"Right," Peter read it and spoke, "Edith?"
"Hello Peter, my name is EDITH, Tony Stark's augmented reality security and defense system," the glasses quickly called out.
"Woah," Ned said, his eyes going wide.
"I knew it was an AI," I whispered.
"Your called EDITH?" Peter asked, frowning.
"Yes, it stands for: Even Dead I'm The Hero, Tony loved his acronyms," I snorted and rolled my eyes, Tony did love his acronyms.
"M-Mr. Stark built you for me?" Peter asked.
"No. But you have access to all of Tony's protocols," the AI replied.
"Like what?" I asked, prompting Peter.
"I'm sorry, but you are not authorised to ask me that."
"Oh, right," Peter cleared his throat, "EDITH, what exactly can you do?"
"Would you like me to show you?" the AI asked with a hint amusement as suddenly the lens light up.
"Woah!" Peter cried out, looking around the room.
"What's happening?" I asked.
"It's like-it's like it's showing me everything about everyone," Peter replied, turning to me, "it's showing me a profile about you. But it's...coming up blank, just a bank account.'
"Different world remember, I don't have much of a digital footprint in this world," I replied, turning to Ned, "check Ned."
"Yeah, check me," Ned asked excitedly.
Peter turned and blinked, "wow, it's like showing me everything. His text messages, his private information details and...dude, if your middle name Martha?"
"Woah! Not cool! How the hell does it know all that?" Ned asked, quickly backing out of the glasses frame.
"Tony built this, I'm guessing it's probably one of the most advanced pieces of technology on the face of this Earth," I hummed, looking it over, "Peter, ask Edith to run a search for Carol Danvers."
"Captain Marvel?" he asked. I nodded and he gave the command, growing as images came over the lens, "wow, that's like, a lot. Is that...her birth certificate? Woah, she's like old..."
"Yeah, don't mention it," I smiled, "does it mention how she and Fury met?"
"Ah… no, says it's classified."
"I see," so it couldn't hack into SHIELD level restricted files, makes sense. But how about, "can EDITH tell us how many buildings the Hulk managed to break down?"
"One sec," Peter gave the command and widened his eyes, "18?"
"That doesn't sound right," Ned shook his head.
"No, sounds right," I hummed. So it can compile data with an almost alarming capacity. Either that or someone has that totally random iota of information just ready to go at a moment's notice.
"How could the Hulk have only broken 18 buildings? I've met the guy, he's a big guy," Peter pointed out.
"So have I, trust me, he isn't that clumsy. Plus, remember, it's not how many building's he's damaged, but how many he managed to break down, meaning entirely. I'm sure if you counted damage done in any way or based on the amount of information it would be a lot more...Peter.."
"Yes Peter?" Peter said.
"This isn't going to be confusion at all," Ned pointed out the obvious.
"He's right, we should totally give you a code name or something," Peter pointed out, "like… Peter two?"
I raised an eyebrow, "I'm older than you, you're Peter two."
"Yeah.. but this is my dimension so...you know..."
I smirked, "call me Ben."
Peter's eyes widened, "Ben..." I caught his eye, he looked away, "r-right, Ben… good name… do you-"
BRING!
Peter's phone started to ring, loudly. He picked it up and took off the glasses, "it's Ms. Hill."
"Send it to voicemail," I replied, waving his worry away as I began to think.
"What?!"
"Just do it," I hissed. Peter looked panicked but his the red button, sending her to voicemail.
I took a deep breath and began to pace back and forth in the room, "so what do we know? Mysterio is after EDITH, we know he's faking the attacks. I don't know how, but we know whatever his plan is relies on this fear mongering he's building up, tricking Fury and being seen as this hero by everyone."
"Maybe he wants to be the next Iron man?" Ned spoke up with a shrug.
I stopped and turned to him, "that's...that's right….he does want to be the next Iron Man...the next Tony Stark ...that's why he's after those glasses. They are more than just a piece of advanced technology for surveillance, what did Tony write in that note again?"
"Ah, 'For the next Tony Stark, I trust you'," Peter quoted.
"Those glasses, they are a crown, a symbol. Tony meant for you to have them, because he meant for you to be the next Iron Man," I realised, walking up to Peter. The teenager looked shattered, confused and most importantly, overburdened.
"So… he wants EDITH because he...he wants the crown?" Peter asked, collapsing onto the edge of the bed.
"What do we do now?" Ned asked as just then Peter's phone started to ring yet again.
Peter looked at it and whispered, "it's Ms. Hill again..." he looked up at me and I saw inside of him a shattered burdened young man, the same look I once hand after Doom destroyed my life back on my Earth...lost, forgotten. I didn't have anyone to help me then...he does now.
I kneeled down and placed a hand on Peter's shoulder, "listen up...we can do this two ways. One, we catch Mysterio in the act, throw off whatever plans he has place and show Fury he's a fraud. Or two...we do the same thing but we have a little fun with it."
Peter and Ned shared a look, "what did you have in mind?" I grinned.
SHIELD Black site:
"When we call you, you pick up!" Fury cried out, towering over Peter, anger visible in his one eye. "You better have a damn good excuse."
Suddenly the very cool and lavished hotel room Peter found himself in became very hot and uncomfortable. The room was large and filled with agents, portable terminals set up all around the walls, the very same equipment used in Venice.
"I-I needed time to slip away," Peter stammered out, hands up in surrender, "people started asking me questions and I couldn't answer! So I had to wait before I could come!"
Fury narrowed his eyes, "you're telling me you couldn't get away from seven teenagers and two bumbling adults?"
"Hey, those are my teacher's your talking about!" Peter protested. Fury lifted an eyebrow and Peter sighed, "no need to be so blunt..."
"Leave the kid alone Fury," Mysterio spoke up, "he has every right to be a little reluctant given how you hijacked his school trip and forced him into this."
"He had an obstacle in his way and I removed it," Fury replied, and just then thunder cracked. It drew everyone's attention and Fury immediately turned to Hill, "what was that? Did we have any reports of thunder storms in the area?"
Hill rushed over to a terminal and began to work away, "no sir, I don't know what it is, but there's no way a storm could be forming here. Rain season is late Fall."
Fury turned to Mysterio, "Beck, is there any chance the Elementals are causing this?"
"Call me Mysterio," Beck replied seriously, flashing Peter a smile. The boy however failed to replicate it. Mysterio looked a little taken aback but turns to Fury, "and no, they don't do that. I mean, the Wind Elemental might but that's already dead..."
KRAKOOM!
"Okay that isn't natural!" Fury looked outside the hotel's window, "there isn't a single damn cloud in the sky! Hill, get me a status report! I want to know exactly what's causing this!"
Hill's eyes widened, "wait...thunder but no clouds...sir, do you think-"
KRAKOOM!
Lightning came down, hard, right outside on their balcony. Everyone flinched and tried to block out the light that exploded into the room. When the brightness passed and people regained their vision, they looked outside to the patio doors and watched as they swung open and a God walked through them.
"Well now, glad I found you all this time. You wouldn't believe how many portals I had to open until I found the right one!" Thor smiled, swinging StormBreaker onto his shoulder and smiling. All the extra weight he had before was gone, his hair and beard trimmed to a clear clean cut.
The room was silent, no one said a word. And if one looked at Peter Parker, they would have seen him smile at a plan coming together.
With The Spider:
I grinned, I had to say, I surprise even myself with the shit I come up with. I mean when was the last time I ever did something like this? Tricking people, god, I think it was when I fought Doom. Ever since then it's always me using my fists to send the message, no finesse.
All it took was the glamour spell I learned with Wanda, Jean and Felicia, during the time we were guarding the London Sanctum, a pipe which I enchanted to look like Storm Breaker and a little bit of thunder dancing around my fingertips.
I turned to Fury and smiled, the wide grin I remember Thor flashing me many times, "Fury! What's this I hear about you fighting Fire Monsters?!" I asked, doing my best Asgardian accent, shaking the man's hand.
"I-I was told you were out in space," Fury replied, slowly shaking my hand, "that you and the Guardians were busy saving the galaxy or something."
"Well, between you and me, Quill's little quest to find his lady love is starting to get tiring," I winked, "had some free time so I decided to check my old Avenger's communicator and wouldn't you know it, I had a message from Peter! Telling me you were fighting giant monsters and you didn't invite me! I mean, I don't mean to tell you how to do you job, but fighting fire giants is kind of my area of expertise you know."
"Is that so," Fury turned to Peter, looking for an explanation. Peter just shrugged, "well, either way I'm glad you're here-" I spotted Beck moving to the door from the corner of my eye. Not letting you get away asshole!
"-And who is this?!" I cut Fury off, turning to Mysterio. I walked up to him, looking him up and down slowly, my eyes narrowed, "I didn't seem to recall you. Are you new?"
"I-I am. My name is Quientin Beck, Msyertio," he held out his hand to shake.
"Well met Quientin, son of Beck," I shook his hand before leaning in, "but between you and me, Mysterio seems a bit childish for a superhero name, don't you think?"
Beck said nothing, gulping and nodding slowly. "Now then!" I threw an arm around the man's shoulders and basically dragged him back to the spotlight, "we have three heroes and one monster! Who's ready for some slaying?!"
"W-wait!" Peter called out, finally recalling his part of the plan. He turned it Fury, "my friends, we need to keep them safe, they can't get in trouble."
"The faster we stop the Elemental, the safer your friends will be," Fury replied coldly before turning to me, "come, we'll get you up to speed."
"Wait, what's this I hear about children being in danger?" I asked, lightning sparking between my fingers, making Beck, who was still under one arm, flinch in surprise.
"Thor it isn't that simple-"
"By my beard it is," I growled, "there are children in danger fury and your answer is to do nothing? Where is the man that shot down a plane containing a nuclear bomb, willingly sacrificed his own life to save the whole of New York? It's almost like you aren't even human..."
Fury, for a second, just one second, stopped himself. He looked at me and that's all it took for me to hit his mind with a mental probe strong enough to dig past any defenses he had and into his consciousness thoughts.
He was a Skurll. And more importantly… he was Talos. Damn, I hate being right.
"Fine," fury turned to Hill, "find something for them to do indoors for the next four hours. Make it fast," Hill nodded and typed away on her computer.
"Now, can we get down to business?" Fury asked. I nodded and the man sighed, shaking his head. He leaned over the holographic table in the middle of the room and began the briefing, repeating to me Beck's bullshit story, which I zoned out for, before finally coming to the important bit.
"Only the Fire Elemental is left," Fury finished, "Beck, care to explain what we'll be facing?"
"R-right," Beck replied, shrugging my arm off his shoulder. I smiled and then immediately put it back on, tightening my grip. He grumbled and turned to Fury, "the Fire Elemental draws its power from the Earth's core. If it manages to melt and absorb enough metal, it can grow big enough to blow up the whole world from the inside out...we need to stop it before it does that. It...it's the one that killed my world."
"I am sorry for you loss friend Mystery, but today you shall have your revenge, so swears the God of Thunder!" I cried out. God, I hate falling for his stupid act.
"We have maybe twenty minutes before the next Elemental shows up," Fury explains, "use that time to get ready."
"I need to tune my powers before the fight," Beck spoke up, pushing my arm away and walking to the door, "I'll be there, good luck, all of you," and with that he walked through the door and slammed it behind him.
I turned to Fury, "well he's a sensitive one isn't he? Where did you even find him?"
"He's from another world," Fury sighed, rubbing his forehead, "did you even listen to the brief?"
"Focusing on the details was always more of Stark's department," I shrugged before turning to Peter, nodding, "go ahead Peter, I'll stay here and take care of business. Be with your friends and make it here quick."
Peter nodded, "right...good luck," he walked out the door as well, and as soon as he did I turned to Fury and dropped the smile.
"Thor? Is something wrong?" Fury asked, his hand already reaching for his gun. Good reflexes, at least he got Fury's paranoia.
I turned to the others and took a deep breath. I smelt a mixture of Skrull and human scents. Hm, not all of them are skrulls, and by scanning all their mind's structure alone I could tell only two had non-human wave patterns: Fury and Hill.
I nodded to the side door, "could we speak in private Fury? Hill? I have a message for the both of you from Carol. She insisted it was for your ears only," I turned and walked away, not waiting for a reply.
I knew their curiosity would get the better of them, especially after I mentioned the name of the woman who they considered a Freedom fighter for their whole race. I walked into the adjacent room, a smaller bedroom, and 'Fury' and 'Maria' were right behind me.
As soon as the door shut I turned to them and released a wave of electricity that ran over my body, "now, Talos and… Soren if I remember correctly," the two of them stiffened, "you have ten seconds to explain to me who two Skrulls are impersonating two high level security agents in charge of protecting Midgard from extraterrestrial threats. And please do not lie to me, as you may or may not know, my brother made me hate liars in general. It's an allergy I think, every time someone lies I have this urge to pluck their heads of their necks."
Fury and Maria were silent, looking to the other with fearful trepidation. In their eyes, God had literally threatened to kill them both without blinking. They knew they didn't have a choice.
So with a sigh, they tossed their firearms aside, which was a nice enough, though meaningless, gesture, and slowly began to shift. They morphed from the pale and dark humans the imitated into the green form skrulls were seen to take.
"Better," I replied with a smile, "now, why and where."
"Excuse me?" Talos asked.
"Why did you impersonate Fury and Hill and where are they?" I repeated myself slowly.
"They asked us to," Soren replied, I turned to her and immediately Talos came and stood before his wife protectively, determination in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, they asked you to impersonate them?" I pressed.
"Fury and Hill said they needed a rest," Talos continued, "after the war with Thanos...it became too much for them. They are currently on a Skrull ship enjoying some rest and relaxation."
I was listening to their heart beat, it was even, they didn't lie once. I blinked, "so...you are telling me, Fury, a man who trusts no one, not a single human being, wanted you to become him, impersonate him, which would give you access every single top level classified files of SHIELD, giving you an ideal position to know all of mankind's secrets and weaknesses...because he wanted a vacation?"
"...Yes."
I slapped my face, "that man is a fucking idiot. I swear to god I'm going to….sigh, fine," I shook my head, "this is quite a mess you made Talos. Honestly, you are a sorry excuse for a shapeshifter, I mean, of all people, shouldn't you have released that Beck was lying to you?"
"I'm sorry," Soren and Talos asked together.
I nodded, "Peter figured it out. Your new 'hero'? He's a fraud. He's not from another Earth and his monster, they are fake too."
"How do you know all that?" Talos asked.
"Simple, because I'm the god of thunder," I grinned, "and if you want proof, Peter's right now on his way to getting you some."
"What?!"
With Peter:
He knew he shouldn't complain, but this thing was seriously tight around the groin. The suit was nice though, black and tactical, very much Fury's style. Peter landed in a crouch on a rooftop and moved under the shadows. There, speeding into an abandoned building across the road, was Beck.
He got out of his van and rushed inside, yelling at the top of his voice. Peter grinned, Peter was right, the-eh-the other Peter. God they really needed to do something about their names. He suggested Ben but…
Honestly he had mixed feelings about the man. He was supposed to be him from another world, but he was just so...different. Every since Mr. Stark died Peter's felt his life untangling around him, he hoped this trip would distract him but...well, then Mysterio came along.
But now, see a version of himself who has it all figured out, an answer to any problem and...and a child. For the first time since losing Tony it felt like Peter had someone to look up too. The fact that that someone was himself is kind of an odd statement.
It still seemed too fantastical to be real. The man's story, his life, his powers. He had so many, most Peter and him shared, but a few...well, a few, like that magic glamor spell he used to become Thor, well that just seemed impossible.
But then again, it was a great multiverse and anything that should be possible must be, somewhere.
There was a loud crash, show time. Peter took out a camera, one he borrowed from a classmate, and leaped, landing on the wall of the nearby building, beforeing slowly crawling his way to open window from which the noise was coming from.
He looked inside and turned on the camera. Beck was inside, surrounded by a large group of people with various equipment all around them. He made sure he got a picture of every person's face, just like the other Peter told him too, making sure to get good clean shots at every angle.
"What do you mean the plans off?!" one bald scientist cried out, "today's what the whole plan was about Beck! You can't call it off now!"
"I can and I am!" Beck roared. He grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him close, "did you hear that thunder?!"
"W-what?"
"That thunder! A few minutes ago, did you hear it?!" the man nodded, "that was the sound of the fucking god Thor coming in to help! So do you think we can fight off a God with a few dozen drones?! Do you?!"
Everyone inside grew quite. Beck threw the man aside and turned to everyone else, "get the drones and the equipment and put them away. Take them to the black site and vanish. We don't talk until I say so, until the coast is clear."
"B-but what about our plan? To make Mysterio the next Iron Man?" someone asked.
"The plan's dead, and so is Mysterio," Beck replied, "now can someone get this stupid costume off me!"
Peter's eyes widened, they were planning on running, he couldn't let them! He had to stop them, give the other Peter enough time to convince Fury and Hill of the truth and get them here! He put away the camera and looked around, he needed a plan, quick.
Seeing no other choice he web swung over to the ground snuck his way to the garage door. Grabbing the bottom he pulled the shutter, forcing it upwards with his strength. He then ducked beneath the tiny crack he had made and rolled inside.
Peter found two vans and a dozen random cars inside. He first moved to the van and opened the door, which was lucky unlocked. He reached onto the steering wheel and with a grunt, snapped it off.
He carefully placed the broken wheel back in place, making it seem intact, before doing the same to every vehicle inside. He then rolled back under the shutter and pulled the door down. And then just to insure they wouldn't be able to escape, Peter covered the door with webbing, making it impossible to open again.
Satisfied Peter turned to jump away, only to stop in his tracks and gasped in surprise as he saw Beck starting back at him floating in the sky.
"Peter… so you figured it out. Can I ask how?" Beck didn't smile, nor did he have the air of care he projected before. There was no doubt about it, this dude was totally the bad guy.
"You're going down for this Beck, I'm going to make sure of it," Peter replied, eyeing the area around him. The other Peter said Beck was using holograms to do his tricks, which means the one up there in the air was just a hologram and the real one was somewhere else.
Just then his head started buzz, without thinking Peter jumped, just in time to avoid a rain of bullets that came down over him. I leaped away and landed on his feet, looking up to see several dozen drones slowly gather around Mysterio from inside the building.
"Oh shit," Peter whispered.
"It didn't have to be this way kid!" Mysterio cried out as slowly the drones began to vanish into thin air, replaced by an image of a giant Mysterio that overlapped Beck's own image. A booming powerful voice took Beck's own, "BUT NOW, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THIS!"
The figure lunged at Peter and swallowed him whole. Peter flinched, trying to get away, only to suddenly darkness to capture him.
He looked around, alone, green smoke rising up to kiss his feet. He was panting, his senses on high alert as he tried to figure out where Beck was.
"You didn't want any part of this kid, you never did!" a voice called out as suddenly the world transform into the hallway of a school, "you wanted to just be a normal kid, didn't you? Why did you get involved?!"
Peter's senses flared as a pair of headbeams suddenly came into the frame. A car was coming. He jumped into the air to avoid it, and the car vanished into smoke, replaced by a flash of gun fire that hit Peter right in the chest.
"Argh!" Peter cried out, blasted away, rolling on the ground. He pulled himself to his knees, holding his side.
"I didn't want to kill you kid, I didn't. I wanted you to live, to be a kid...guess you were just too nosey for your own good."
Another flare of the Peter tingle made Peter jump into the air, land on the side of a building and climb it.
"You aren't going anywhere Peter! I'm not done with you yet!" a flare of gun fire riddled the building's surface before him, forcing Peter to jump away from the falling debris and swing his way to the road.
"You are nothing but a bug! You're no hero!" Beck roared as the darkness split to reveal a knife coming after Peter, cutting his web line, dropping him to the ground.
As he fell Peter was hit over and over again by giant green fists that formed out of smokey green circles of magic. They threw him into a wall, allowing him to slowly slid down in pain. He was alive, in a lot of pain, but alive. The armour protected him from the bullets, but they still damn well hurt.
"You are the person Stark passed EDITH too? You?" Msyetrio came out of the darkness, standing before Peter, "you aren't a hero...you're not even a man. You're a child ...and child who's way over his-"
KRAKOOM!
Lightning came burst through the darkness as suddenly the holographic darkness vanished, replaced by the sight of the drone electrocuted from the inside out. Peter gasped in shock.
"Who dares?!" Thor cried out as he landed in the middle of the road, forming a crater as he did. He looked at Peter and then Beck, "you did this?'
"I-I-" Beck stammered, throwing his hands up in surrender, "I didn't-"
FLOOSH!
Thor swung StormBreaker, cutting Beck's head off his body. "Oh my God! Oh my God!" Peter cried out, "wh-what did you do?!"
Thor spat, "what must be done," he stepped over Mysterio's decapitated body and held out a hand, "get up Peter, this is no place for a hero."
"Are you crazy!" Peter hit the hand away, "we were going to bring him in! That was the plan! And instead, you-you killed him?!"
"There was no other way Peter," Thor shrugged, "he was too dangerous to let live."
"Bullshit!" Peter spat back, "I can't believe I ever looked up to you! I can't believe I-I...how are you ever me? How would I ever become you?!"
Thor looked confused, "what are you talking about? Peter, are you okay?" he asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" Peter threw the hand away, "and you know damn well what I'm talking about. I'm talking about-" he stopped. He looked at the Thor before him and behind his mask Peter's eyes widened to near a comical degree.
"Peter...are you okay? Are you going into, what you humans call, shock?" Thor asked again.
And then Peter realised something that wasn't Thor, that also wasn't the other Peter pretending to be Thor. No, this was...this was a trick.
"I'm fine,' Peter replied, "let's-let's just go."
Just then a black SUV pulled around and out of it stepped Fury, his one eye turning to 'Thor', 'Beck' the drones and Peter. He sighed, "well isn't this a mess."
He shut the door behind him, walking over to Beck's body, "did you have to kill him?"
"He was about to end the man of Spider's life. I stopped him," 'Thor' explained proudly. Fury didn't look too upseat, which made Peter wonder, was this even Fury? Or was it another trick?
"Well around here we do a little thing called questioning," 'Fury' argued back, "we need to know how he got his tech and more importantly if he has more."
"Who exactly is he?" 'Thor' asked.
"Hill managed to find out his name, his real name. He was a former Stark employee looking for revenge. He was after the glasses Stark gave you," 'Fury' told Peter, "you still have them?"
'The glasses, he was after them again, which meant...he's a fake too,' Peter realised as he nodded.
It was a little funny if you looked at this scene. Technically it was all a big act. 'Thor' and 'Fury' were just Beck pretending to be them and Peter was pretending he didn't know.
"Good, give them to me," Fury held out his hand, "as things are right now they are too dangerous to be in the hands of kids."
"Mr. Stark left them to me," Peter argued, already forming a plan on how to take Beck down in his head.
"That may be, but Beck was after those glasses, and I can promise you that he isn't the only one. You want to go back to you field trip, right?" Fury asked, one eyebrow up, "put all of this behind you?"
Peter nodded, "yes..."
"Then give me the glasses kid, trust me," Fury ordered, his desperation barely hidden.
Peter reached down to his utility belt and took out the EDITH glasses. Fury nodded, motioning him to hand it over, Peter held it up and just before he gave them, pulled back, "how did Beck even know about them? Wasn't it a secret?"
"Beck worked on those glasses," Fury explained, pointing to the drones, "you see those things? Those glasses has access to hundreds more just like them, only more deadly. So if we don't get them to safety quick, it's going to be an Avengers level threat Parker."
"Trust the man, Peter," Thor nodded, "he did help form the Avengers after all."
Peter looked to Fury and Thor, and just then, something clicked inside his head. Peter smiled, "you're right," he reached up and pulled off his mask and held the glasses up, "I trust you."
Fury smiled, reaching for the glasses. It was an inch away before Peter pulled back, flipped them open and put them on, "EDITH! Hack into the drones around me and gain access over them all!"
"What?!" Fury and Thor cried out as one, the illusion dropped an in their place was Beck, in an image capturing suit with a fishbowl over his head that had a mic and data running over the surface.
"Access granted Peter, gaining access now," the AI replied.
"No-no-no!" Beck cried out, typing away into the digital pad on his left arm, typing away furiously.
"Not today Beck!" Peter cried out, firing a web line that caught his arm and pulling him down to the ground, hard.
"ARGH!" Beck cried out as Peter pulled him across the street. He reached down and ripped the tablet on Beck's hand, crushing it in his hand and throwing the shattered pieces away.
"You-you bastard!" Beck cried out, pulling himself up and reaching into his suit, pulling out a gun from inside. He fired, Peter moved, avoiding the bullet. He fired a web line and ripped the gun out of his hand.
"You're not getting me again Beck," Peter replied, crushing the gun with his bare hands, "and you're going to jail, you and your accompalses," he turned looking up to the window, where sure enough all the people who helped dBeck was looking out the window, mouths wide open.
"EDITH, scan all their faces and notify Mr. Fury that these people helped Beck," Peter ordered, "oh, and tell him to get over here as soon as he can."
"Understood Peter," the AI replied as all the drones formerly under Mysterio's control moved to the window and scanned the faces and registered everyone there. And as soon as that happened Peter heard thunder rumbles and the sound of many, many cars drive over.
A dozen SUV's suddenly came out onto the road and stopped. Agents dressed in black came pouring out into the small European street, with Nick Fury and Maria Hill leading them.
Peter looked at them and then at Beck. He reached out, picked up the man by the collar and shook him. Fury looked at the scene and raised an eyebrow, "something I need to know?"
"Just checking," Peter said before looking at Fury, "EDITH, is this real?"
"All holographic projections have been terminated Peter," the AI replied.
"So, you did it," Fury noted Beck and the people inside the building, the drones on standby, "drones and hyper-real holographic projectors. Who would have thought," he turned to Peter and nodded, "you did good kid."
KAKOOM!
Lightning roared as 'Thor' came soaring through the air, landing with ease before them, a smile on his face, "he did more than good Fury. He did amazing."
Peter smiled, nodding at the man. He turned to Fury, holding Beck out to him, "he's all yours."
"Right, cuff him," Fury turned to his agents who grabbed Beck and restrained him.
"Inside," Hill pointed at everyone inside before turning to her people, "take them all into custody and lock down this whole building, I don't want a single piece of tech getting out of our sight."
"So I guess you stepped up after all," 'Thor' smiled, patting Peter on the back before leaning in close, "and ah, between you and me? They seem to slowly fit you."
Peter grinned, Fury cleared his throat, gaining their attention, "well, what now Spider-man?"
"Now? I have a vacation to get back to," Peter grinned, almost ecstatic at the thought of actually finishing this trip the way it was always meant to be, "so if you need anything Mr. Fury, call someone else."
"Heh, will do," Fury nodded before turning to 'Thor'. The two exchanged a glace, Peter didn't understand what was going on, but whatever it was, he was sure the other Peter would tell him if it was important.
"Well, then it's time for me to return home as well," 'Thor sighed, "hopefully by now Quill would have made some progress. Come Peter, let me drop you, it's the least I can do."
"Right, thanks," Peter winced as he put his arm around 'Thor's' shoulder. The man looked worried, "it's nothing, just numb," Peter assured him.
'Thor' nodded and the two took off into the night, heading back to Peter's hotel.
With the Spider:
Peter winced as he dipped his boxer clad bruised and battered form into the bathtub full of ice, "stings," he hissed.
"Happenes," I replied, leaning back against the tub beside him, "I remember the days when I came home after a long fight. I had to make sure it healed before May or Ben saw, God, the things I did back then to hide my identity..."
"B-Ben?" Peter's voice hitched.
I turned and smiled, "yeah...I'm one of the few Spider-men in the multiverse lucky enough to still have him in my life...though I honestly don't spend as much time as I can with the man..."
"I see," Peter looked lost, obviously he had no clue what to say to that.
I sighed and leaned back, relaxing against the tub, thinking back to the conversation I had with Talos. How I warned him to contact Fury and demand he cut his vacation short, that if I found out he was still in his place this time next week I would make the next warning much clearer.
I didn't want to threaten the alien, honestly he sounded like he was just covering a shift while his friend took a longer break. The only issue is that by being Nick Fury he gained access to parts of the human world that no one with the same interests should access. Like nukes.
Did Fury even have nukes anymore? Hmm… maybe. Oh who even knows anymore this fucking five years age gap is such bullshit.
"Peter," Peter asked.
"Hm?"
"Can you...can you teach me?"
"Teach you what?"
"To be like you?"
I smiled, "kiddo, you've never actually seen me in action. You don't know what I can do."
"Yeah but...that's not what I meant. I mean the way you just seem to know what to do whenever something goes wrong, a solution for everything. Could you teach me how you remain so in control?"
"You were pretty incontrol today kiddo," I replied, flashing him a smile, "I mean, when you grabbed his wrist tab and tear it off, music to my ears."
Peter's eyes widened, "wait, you were there? You saw him do those things? Why didn't you help?!"
"Peter...did I ever tell you about the first big bad guy I fought? Like serious big bad guy?" Peter's anger clamped down, just a little, so I continued, "it was Doom, Doctor Doom. You don't have him on your Earth but he was a tough conniving son of a bitch. And the first time we fought he knocked me unconscious...If that didn't happen, then the next time I fought him I wouldn't have kicked his ass. That's why I didn't step in, because it was a challenge you needed to overcome on your own.
"Listen kid, as much as I would like to tell you there's a simple trick to being confident or a better hero, they're really isn't. It's simply just...getting back up every time you fail or get knocked down. No matter what, who or why, you always get back up.
Even if you feel broken, like the world was ripped away from you by the seams, like you don't have any ground to stand on, even then...you just keep working on it and one day you'll look back and you won't...you won't believe the things you've done along the way."
Peter was silent, I reached up and touched his chest, "remember Peter, our greatest weapon, it's this and," I tapped his forehead, "this. As long as you have them, no one, no god or man can stop you."
Peter smiled, "thanks...what kind of supervillain name is Doctor Doom?"
"Ha! It's not, his name is Victor Von Doom and he has a doctorate. It's a Doctor Strange situation, the man's lazy."
"Still a stupid name."
"I know right. Oh, you know his catch phrase? 'Doom demands it!' I swear, says it way too many times. I'm pretty sure that's how he gets chicks."
Peter laughed, "stop, it hurts when I laugh!"
I chuckle as slowly silence came down again. "So...speaking of picking up girls...you telling Michelle?"
Peter smiled, "Paris, I'll tell her when we reach Paris, on the top of the Eiffel tower."
I smiled, "that's nice...don't worry, you won't mess this up."
"I didn't-"
"I know you, you have a chip on your shoulder a boulder big. Don't' worry, you'll do fine..."
Peter looked ready to argue, but instead he sighed, leaned back in the tub and smiled, "thanks… hey, what was your first crush like?"
I blinked, "oh, she was a thief. Wore a skintight black leather catsuit."
"Oh...I see..."
"Yup…."
"How did it end?"
I smiled, "who said it ended?"