Chapter 14
THE VERDICT
“I’ve got to admit, for a web-shooting hero like myself, who also just happened to be cursed with the crappiest luck in the world, it felt SOOOO good have some things going my way. For example, I managed to beat Osborn…again.“
Back in the teleportation room of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helocarrier, a now beaten and none armored Norman Osborn is transported on board, along with two undercover agents who were secretly stationed within the crowd at the Colosseum and were holding him up by his arms. Upon arrival, the still groggy Norman just assumed he was being taken to the Helocarrier’s medical bay, but was instead greeted by Nick Fury, who gave Norman a narrow brow, a very angry Maria, Iron Man, who pointed held up a charged right hand for a repulser blast, Cap with shield in hand and a squad of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, all of whom had their firearms pointed at the defeated leader of the now defunct Thunderbolts.
Norman eventually started to snap out of his daze, but soon surprised to see the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents he controlled aiming their weapons at him, as well as seeing Nick Fury along with them, as well as two of the Avengers who were supposed to be imprisoned.
“Only this time, Fury made sure that he didn’t weasel his way out of getting what was coming to him.”
Iron Man couldn’t help but smile at seeing the look of dismay on Norman’s face. “Welcome aboard, Norman” he said in a coy tone, to ‘pour salt on an open wound’ after everything the madman put him and his teammates through.
“Stark?!” asked the shocked Norman, then turned his attention to the agents that were holding him up. “Let go of me, you morons,” he barked as pulled his hands from the two agents, who let him go, but only because they were ordered by Nick himself to do so once they made it to the Helocarrier. Now with adrenaline surging through his veins through the combination of the Greene and his own rage, Norman turned his attention to the agents still pointing their weapons at him. “And what are you idiots pointing your guns at me for?! Stark and Rogers are out of their cells and Fury is with them! Hurry up and-!” Suddenly, Norman’s ranting was short when the same circular disc that Iron Man created and used to imprison the Red Hulk was fired and instantly attached itself to his chest. Within a matter of seconds, the disc soon covered his entire body sans his eyes and nose and rendered him completely immobile, as well as unable to speak thanks to the nanties covering his mouth. As expected, Norman frantically struggled to get free, but not even his Greene induced strength was enough to break him out of his make shift prison.
After firing the disc and rendering Norman unable to move, Iron Man pulled his right gauntlet away so he could address the still struggling man who was once the Iron Patriot. “Yeah, not gonna happen,” the Shellhead said calmly. “See while you were getting your psychotic backside handed to you by Spider-Man, we managed to deactivate the nanites you were using to control all of the agents in the Helocarrier. And along the way, we managed to gain access to some files that you’ve kept in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s databanks. The kind that prove that you’re not as heroic as you made the people believe.”
Moments later, Nick took this moment to walk over to the frozen and wide-eyed Norman. “Which allows me to say what I, along with many other people, have been wanting to tell you for a long, long time,” said Nick in a satisfied tone, and as he finally approached Norman, he locked his remaining eye with his. “Norman Osborn, oh behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the entire human race in general, you’re under arrest.”
Naturally, Norman became more shocked and dismayed upon hearing those words from Nick, and thus he continued to try and break free, but to no avail. “No! NOOOOO!!!!”
“Man, I wish I could’ve been there to see the look on Osborn’s face when Tony and the others trapped him. But I guess smacking him around in front of the whole world will have to do. But yeah, Tony found enough evidence that incriminated not just Norman, but Zemo and the rest of his Thunderbolt lackies. As well as someone else who was just as monstrous…”
In his lab, a frantic Miles was at his computer, trying desperately to book a plane ticket to Aruba so he can get out of the country. He, like all everyone else watching the tournament, saw Norman’s defeat, and had a gut feeling that it was only a matter of time before the police showed up. Unfortunately for panicky biologist, he received quite the surprise when he saw that the plane booking page was not accepting his credit card number. This let to his eyes growing large with fear, as that this meant that they found out about his partnership with Norman and thus froze his bank accounts. “No, no no!! he exclaimed in dismay, then moments later, he was startled when he heard what sounded like a door being kicked down. As Miles turned around to see what it was, his skin turned pure white with fear when he saw that it was Captain George Stacy and an entire New York S.W.A.T., there with a warrant for his arrest thanks to receiving a generous donation in the form of evidence of Miles’ involvement with the Thunderbolts, curtesy of Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D.
“It made me sick when I heard what Dr. Warren was using the ESU lab for, and how he blackmailed the Conners’ into getting it. So yeah, to say that I was happy to hear that he was going to join Norman and his posse in prison would’ve been a gross understatement. And speaking of ‘happy’, that wasn’t what a certain Spider-Man hating editor of the Daily Bugle was feeling…”
Just a day after the Contest of Champions tournament, Jonah was in his office at the Daily Bugle, mumbling to himself irritably as Robbie and Better walked in, with Robbing holding up the latest copy that showed a picture of the battered but victorious Spidey, with trophy in hand and the Avengers by his side. And what really got under Jonah’s skin was when he read the banner headline ‘Spider-Man: The Avenging Champ.’
Robbie could see that Jonah was not the least bit pleased, and thus tried to break it to him gently. “Well Jonah, we just sold out every copy,” he told his hard-headed boss, whose only response was an angry scowl. After getting somewhat intimidated by this, Robbie turned his attention back to the story’s writer, Betty Brant. “But yeah, Brant, great work!” he then looked at the picture taken by a certain photographer. “And I should tell Parker he did great too next time we see him.”
Hearing Robbie mention Peter’s last name was enough to make the seething Jonah start talking again. “Speaking of which, where is Parker? Figured he’d be here to ask me for more money for that crappy picture!”
It was here that Robbie answered his boss, all with a sad expression. “He called this morning, J.J. Said he couldn’t make it because he got mugged and was beat up pretty bad.”
Betty was also saddened to hear the reason why Peter wasn’t here. “Yeah, he called and told me too. I just hope he’s okay."
Though Jonah was just as concerned about Peter’s well-being as his two co-workers, he kept a stone face to keep up with his tough guy façade. “Yeah well, if the kid can pick up and dial a phone, it means he’s not dead and he’ll heal up, Brant,” said Jonah. “I just hope he gets well enough to get his sorry butt back here so he can help, as useless as he is, to get this paper back on the right track and help show this city just what a no-good con that that Wall Crawling menace truly is!”
“Ah, good ol’ J.J., always has his staff’s best interests at heart. But as far as me not going to the Bugle that day…”
That same day in the Parker Household, a still heavily bruised Peter was now in his blue shirt, khaki pants and sneakers, and walking down the stairs while holding an icepack over his swollen left eye, just an hour after using one of the phone’s upstairs to call the Daily Bugle and tell them he wouldn’t be coming in.
“I guess you could call it a half truth. Yeah, I was roughed up pretty bad, only with the ‘mugger’ being Osborn in his Iron Patriot armor. I still had a lot of healing to do, which meant I couldn’t be moving around, taking pictures or otherwise. So, with a little help from Nick Fury and the newly freed S.H.I.E.L.D., I called the Bugle and gave them the mugger story, and left my absence at school to an undercover agent that Fury sent…”
As Peter made it to the bottom stair, he looked ahead and was surprised to see three people in the living room. The first was that of his Aunt May, who was on the couch and in complete disbelief of what was transpiring right in front of her. The second was that of Nick Fury, in his black raincoat, shirt, pants and boots calmly stood by and watched the ‘convincing’ of the Midtown High staff of Peter’s absence. And the third was a female S.H.I.E.L.D., a blonde, white woman in her mid-twenties, calling Midtown High with the living room phone, using her right hand to hold the phone to her ear, all so she could use her left hand to hold a hand-sized tubular device next to her lips, which was programmed to make her voice sound identical to that of May Parker herself.
Once the school Principal on the other line said it was fine for Peter to skip a day, the female agent smiled, as she knew she achieved her objective, and thus ended it by using the device to answer the Principal as ‘The grateful aunt’. “Thank you so much for understanding, Mr. Kirby,” said the agent with May’s voice, which caused the real May to be somewhat disturbed. “Yes, I will give Peter your regards, as well those of the students and staff. Yes, goodbye.” After hanging up the phone and turning off the device, the agent turned to face Nick himself. “It’s done, sir.”
“Good, then so are we,” said Nick, who then turned to May herself with a gentler expression. “You have nothing to worry about from here on out, ma’am.”
“Oh, um, thank you,” May replied with a somewhat uneasy tone but still trying to be polite despite what she just saw.
Nick only gave her a small smile, as he couldn’t blame her for being taken aback on what was being done to make sure that her nephew stayed home so he could heal. “Have a good day,” he told May, then looked up and saw that Peter had just walked into the room. “And kid, take it easy from here on out.”
Peter only looked at Nick with an uneasy expression, as he now had not just his attention, but that of his aunt as well. Nevertheless, he still gave the S.H.I.E.L.D. director a small nod of agreement, with enough movement his swollen face would allow. “Trust me Nick, resting is definitely on top of my things to do list.”
With that answer, Nick gave the injured Peter a small nod of acknowledgement, and he proceeded to walk over to the front door to leave, with the female agent not far behind.
As for May herself, she immediately stood up once she caught a glimpse of her beaten up nephew, and with great concern, she ran over to Peter as Nick and the agent left the house. “PETER!” she cried out as she gently touched a portion of Peter’s face, causing him to wince a little and her heart to break greatly.
“Well, to be more accurate, resting was ‘number two’ on my list of things to do. Number one was finally coming clean to Aunt May about being Spider-Man. This time, with her being conscious, and with the ability to scream at me if she wanted to…and honestly, I couldn't say that I blamed her."
After Nick and the agent’s departure, both Peter and May were now on the couch, where they can finally talk about Peter’s secret double life as Spider-Man. And it was here that May started things off, with her worried look now changed to a stern one. “So, I take that that THIS was part of your routine of risking your life as a superhero?” May asked firmly, referring to her nephew’s swollen and slowly healing face. “A routine you felt that you couldn’t tell me about?”
Peter could hear both the anger and sadness building in her voice, and the fact that not only was hurt more than any punch or kick he received as Spider-Man, but also made him feel no different than Osborn himself. But nevertheless, he proceeded with the heart-wrenching task of telling his aunt the truth. “More or less,” he replied, trying to sound lighthearted but could see that May was not buying. As such, he quickly dropped the humor and continued the conversation as gently as he could. “So, I take it Nick told you?”
May took a moment to sigh as he thought back to the vague memory of being in the safehouse, when she was in a comatose state and she actually heard Peter’s confession before he went on to his match. “No, you did,” May replied, feeling the sorrow of that day take over. “Back in that safehouse, remember?”
Naturally, this answer completely shocked Peter, for as far as he knew, she was still asleep when he told her that day. “Wait?! You knew?! You mean you conscious?!”
“Somewhat,” said May, still hurt as she continued her story. “I’m no doctor, but I guess you could say I was popping in and out of sleep. I only remember bits and pieces, but I remembered you telling me that you were Spider-Man and why you kept doing it. But most of all, I still remember how hurt I was when you’ve lied to me for so long.”
“Yeah, I know…” Peter replied regretfully as he hung his head in shame. “I’m so sorry, Aunt May. I’ll understand if you hate my guts.”
It was here that May soon gently placed her hand underneath Peter’s chin and as gently as she could, brought his face up so she could look at her., “That is where you’re wrong, kiddo,” she told him firmly, surprising the young man once again. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m still not happy that you’ve kept this from me all this time, and I’m certainly not thrilled with you having to risk your life day in and day out, but you should know by now that I will always love you! And as far your Uncle’s death is concerned, that burglar is to blame for Ben not being her with us, not you!” As she continued, May allowed a very small smile to appear on her face as she came to this point. “But…if there’s any comfort about this, it’s that you’ve honored what your Uncle told you about ‘power and responsibility,’ and you’ve showed it with all the good that you’ve done for this city. And, with you being alongside Captain America and the Avengers, I suppose you do have the proper supervision, and I guess at this point, I’m not able to stop you.” Moments later, May gently moved closer and hugger her nephew close, but not too tightly due to his lingering injuries. And, with rolling down her cheeks, she said this into his ear. “Just promise me that you’ll listen to whatever the Avengers tell you to do and be more careful, Peter. Because as proud as I am of you, I don’t want to lose you just like I lost your Uncle.”
Naturally, Peter was stunned on how his aunt seemed to, albeit reluctantly, give her blessing to him being a superhero, as he was expected to be yelled at and told to leave and never come back. But regardless, he gently hugged his aunt back, with one tear going down his uninjured eye. “You won’t Aunt May, I promise.”
“Man, did it feel good to hear that Aunt May still loved me, and that she would try to give my life as Spider-Man a chance as long as I didn’t end up killed. And while I had every intention of keeping my promise to stay alive…I wasn’t too sure about the Avengers ‘being my supervisors’. I still had to wait for them to decide whether or not I should be on the team officially, based on how I did in the tournament. Which brings me to today…”
Two days after the tournament, a healed but still slightly bruised Peter, still wearing his usual clothing, was now in the backseat of a limousine that was sent by Tony Stark himself and was taking him over to the Avengers Mansion. While sitting in the back, Peter was also in the middle of typing in the notepad program of his cellphone, as part of his ‘diary’, should the day come where he would stop being Spider-Man and would have to document his adventures to the public. “…I’m now in the backseat of one of Tony Stark’s many limos and on my way to the Avengers Mansion to find out where I stand in being part of the team,” he typed. “And man, I am BEYOND nervous! Still, whatever the outcome, it was still a blast, and an honor, to fight alongside Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Whether it’s fighting time traveling tyrants, a giant planet eating alien, or just recently, fighting in a tournament ran by a psychotic like Osborn. And if they don’t let me on the team, well, all I can say is, it was a good ride. Fingers crossed.” After finishing his latest entry, Peter stopped typed and placed his phone in his right pants pocket. He then looked out the window and saw that the Avengers Mansion was not too far away, and thus took a deep breath to try and settle his nerves, though it did little to no help to calm him down.
Meanwhile, in the lower levels of the Avengers Mansion, more specially, the science quarters, the double doors open to show the human sized Wasp, who was out of her black and yellow dress and was wearing the fashionable clothing of Janet Van Dyne, coming down after escorting another ‘guest’ to the roof of the mansion to wait for Peter. It was here that she walked out of the elevator with a firm look as she made her way to Yellowjacket’s mobile lab to confront him, determined to find out the truth about his personality change back at the Helocarrier. Was it just a ploy to prevent the Avengers from kicking him off the team so he can carry on his own agenda, or was Hank Pym, the REAL Hank Pym, the one that she fell in love with, truly back? Dead set on finding out, Jan stormed into the mobile lab, and received quite the surprise on what she saw.
Namely that it wasn’t filled with weapons, or what harmful gadgets that Yellowjacket had cooked up, but this time, it was stored with science equipment, the kind that Hank once used when he was Ant-Man. As she continued to look around the chamber in amazement, Jan noticed the Yellowjacket costume on display inside a plastic casing, something that both astonished and confused her.
Little did Jan know; however, she was in for another shock. One that was in the form of Henry Pym, this time dressed in a lab coat, as well as a white dress shirt with a black tie, khaki pants and brown shoes. He seemed a bit unsure on how to approach Jan after what she had been through, but nevertheless, he proceeded to address her in the most gentle way possible “As you can see, I’ve been busy turning this lab into a place of science, as it was meant to be ,” he said softly, and succeeded in causing Jan to turn and around and have her eyes grow huge upon seeing him. As Hank continued, his expression soon changed to a sad one as he looked at the Yellowjacket costume in the case. “But I still keep that costume as a reminder of all the harm that was caused, and to work hard on trying to atone for it.” Moments later, Hank soon turned his Jan, who appeared to look at him more angrily. “Jan, I…”
Jan quickly pointed her index finger at Hank to cut him off mid-sentence. “Don’t lie to me!” Jan demanded, and as she walked up to the scientist, her eyes began to water up. “Is it you? Is it REALLY you this time?”
A sad and ashamed Hank gave Jan a small nod. “It is, Jan. While it’s true, ‘Yellowjacket’ was doing more harm than good, I still let it happen. I let him hurt my friends, and more importantly…I let him hurt you.” It was here that Hank’s sadness turned to resolution as he looked in Jan’s tearing eyes. “But Jan, I swear to you, on my soul, as long as I’m here helping you and the Avengers, you will never see that side of me ever again!”
This statement only caused Jan to be even more confused. “Wait, what do you mean ‘help us’?”
“Well, even though I have no desire to fight villains, I still want to help the Avengers protect the planet,” Hank explained. “And so, after about an hour-long discussion with Tony, half of which was convincing him that I’m me again, he’s allowed me to stay on board as the Avengers’ chief scientific advisor. This way, I can avoid violence, but also use my knowledge and passion for science to help the team that are not just my friends…but my family.” Moments later, Hank took both Jan’s hands so he can tell her this. “And also, help the woman who, up until I let Yellowjacket take over, always stood by me and believed in me, and whom I’ve always cared for deeply since then.” It was here that Hank started to struggle a bit with what he had to say next, for even was never the best at discussing his feelings. “So much so, that…there’s something I been meaning to tell her for quite some time now…”
At this point, Jan could feel happiness surging through her. Not only did she know for certain that Hank Pym was back, but she could see it in his eyes that he was going to say what she’s always wanted him to say, all which led her to shed tears of joy.
Hank into Jan’s hope filled, watery eyes, and had the feeling that he was about to tell her what she’s wanted to hear. It was more than enough to make him shake off his nervousness and finally come clean. “Jan, I love you! I’ve always-“
Suddenly, Hank was cut off again, but this time, with an ecstatic Jan wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him hard. Naturally, this surprised Hank greatly, but it didn’t take long for him wrap his arms around Jan’s waist and return the kiss. It was a moment that both new lovers have wanted for a long time and dared not stopped it…as the kept kissing for a good ten minutes.
Meanwhile, outside the mansion, Peter had finally arrived at the front doorstep. But just before Peter could ring the doorbell, J.A.R.V.I.S’s circular interface shows up on the screen on the right side of the door and greets the young man. “Welcome, Mr. Parker.”
Naturally, this startled Peter so much, he stepped back and almost fell off the door step and just barely stopped himself. Afterwards, he let out a sigh of relief, which caused him to wince briefly due to his still aching side, and thus looked at J.A.R.V.I.S.’s interface. “Hey J.A.R.V.I.S., you want to do me a favor and not do that! I’m still not quite healed up yet, and I don’t need a heart attack to make things worse.”
“My apologies,” J.A.R.V.I.S. replied in his usual proper and polite manner. “I do admit, it is a habit I’m still working on. But please come in, Mr. Stark and the others are expecting you.” With that said, J.A.R.V.I.S. caused the front door automatically.
Peter was still a bit troubled by this, but regardless, he still tried to keep himself composed. “Uh….thanks.” Peter told J.A.R.V.I.S. in an uneasy tone, then walked into the mansion, allow the team’s trusty A.I. to close the door behind him.
Once inside, Peter looked around the huge and lavish interior once again, this being his second time being here, with the first being when he and his teammates were regrouping during the tournament’s half-time. Still, he couldn’t help but marvel at is design.
Just as Peter admired the hallway’s interior, one of the mansion’s primary residents comes walking down the stairs. It was that of Tony Stark, who this time dressed in black pants and a red silk shirt with his neck collar unbuttoned. “Nice to see that you made it, kid.”
Peter soon looked up to where he heard Tony’s voice, and once he saw the billionaire, he nervously stood up as strait to appear formal, or at least as straight as his injured body could allow. “Oh, uh, hi, Mr. Stark! And yeah, I wouldn’t miss it!”
Once Tony stepped off the bottom stair, he could only chuckle at Peter’s almost panicky response. “For the eighth billionth time kid, It’s Tony,” he told Peter with a smirk, normally feeling annoyed when being called the dreaded, in his mind, ‘Mr. Stark’, but in this case, he didn’t mind. He was just glad to see that Peter was healing up nicely after enduring so much punishment from fighting not just Osborn, but all his other physically taxing matches during the tournament. Afterwards, Tony walked over to the still anxious Peter with a welcoming smile. “Come on, everybody’s waiting for you.”
After taking a moment to take a deep breath to calm himself, Peter gave Tony a small smile as he nodded in acknowledgement. “Lead the way.”
Meanwhile, inside the Mansion’s lounge, the Avengers, both original and new, as well as Nick Fury and Sharon Carter, are all dressed in casual clothing by Tony’s suggestion, feeling that the events of the tournament were all too stressful, and felt they needed to relax, which the team didn’t disagree with. The only exceptions to this request were Thor and Hulk, with the God of Thunder feeling that his battle armor WAS casual to him, and the Hulk wearing only his tattered pants from yesterday and feeling that changing out of them would just be a waste of time.
As the Avengers all conversed amongst themselves while waiting for Tony and Peter, as well as the still absent Hank and Jan, Lue Cage is in the corner of the room talking on his cellphone, all the while his partner, Danny ‘Iron Fist’ Rand, conversed with Misty Knight. “So how about it, Jenny?” asked the Power Man. “How’s Lang doing?”
Elsewhere, in the Heroes for Hire office, the heroes’ secretary, Jenny Royce, is on the phone with Luke, all while watching Scott Lang happily playing his daughter, Cassie. “Well boss, both he and his little girl couldn’t be happier,” she replied. “Also, about that Mark Allen kid you told me about, I got a call from Matt Murdock, and he managed to convince the judge in court to lesson the kid’s his sentence to six months, and with good behavior, he’ll be out in three. I’ve got to admit Luke, it’s not like you to go easy on superpowered criminals. Especially one that you fought against in a superhero tournament.”
Back at the mansion, Luke rolled his eyes upon hearing Jenny’s response, both in annoyance and silent agreement. For he felt that he, Luke Cage, the always tough as nails Hero for Hire, was starting to get soft. “Well, he’s not a bad kid,” Luke replied truthfully. “He was only doing what he was doing to keep his sister safe. Hopefully this time, after being Osborn’s pawn was enough to set him straight.” Moments later, Luke saw Tony and Peter walk into the room. “Gotta run, I’ll talk to you when Danny and I get back to the office.” With that said, Luke hung up his cellphone and walked over to join the rest the Avengers in discussing Peter’s membership.
Once he entered the room, Peter couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed but see this many people gathered in one place, people who were now, truly, undisputedly Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, all because of him. Nothing could be more surprising than this…that is until the young man heard the proper, digitized male voice of the vision. “Welcome, Mr. Peter Parker.”
Peter soon turned to where he heard Vision’s voice, and shocked see that the Vision himself was not quite…solid. Meaning that the humanoid appeared to be that of a hologram being projected from one of J.A.R.V.I.S. interface located in the ceiling in the room, which gave the android a more ghost-like appearance. “Uh…Vision?” asked the confused Peter. “Is that you?”
“Affirmative,” Vision replied, feeling somewhat uneasy with Peter’s reaction to his appearance, but understood why it startled the young man, and thus went on to explain his new transparent form. “I downloaded my programming into the Mansion’s network after the tournament’s conclusion. My body is still undergoing repairs back in the hanger of the mansion, which will have a duration of thirty days.”
It was here that Tony intercepted, trying to mask his uneasiness with his usual easygoing demeanor. “Yeah, but this time, when you’re finally back together Vision, you won’t be in a world with Osborn in charge."
This remark caused Nick to chime into the conversation, with his arms crossed and with his calm and firm demeanor. “And now that S.H.I.E.L.D. is no longer being controlled by him, we’re going to make sure that it stays that way.”
Though Tony seemed skeptic of Nick’s claim, remembering how he, along with his fellow Avengers, had to capture villains that broke out under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s watch, not to mention having to bail the agency out on a few occasions, with the recent events of the tournaments of the tournament being chief among them. But nevertheless, he gave Nick a small nod of agreement, as this was not the time to let him know about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s inability to keep villains locked up and start an argument. Suddenly, through the corner of his left eye, Tony looked through the corner of his left eye and saw that Hank and Jan had just arrived, with Jan herself holding Hank’s arm. “Right on time,” Tony said pleasantly, which resulted in Peter and Nick turn in that direction as well. One the two lovers approached them, Tony looked down to see Jan holding on to Hank’s arm closely, all which made the billionaire look at Hank with an intrigued raised eyebrow. “I take it you two patched things up?”
A nervous Hank chuckled nervously before answering Tony. “Yes…and then some,” he told Tony sheepishly, making reference to the kiss that started his relationship with Jan.
Jan quietly giggled in Hank’s shy response, always loving that part about him. Moments later, she saw the bruised-up Peter, and her happiness turned into worry as she releases Hank’s arm, then walked over and gently hugged teen, not squeezing too tightly so as not to injure him further. “Hey champ,” Jan said to Peter softly, then slowly backed away to face him. “How are you healing?”
“Slow, but I’m getting there,” Peter replied truthfully, as well as disappointed. “I mean, I heal faster than normal people due to the spider bite, but it’s nowhere near as fast as Wolverine’s healing factor. And I’m not going to lie, I wish we could switch powers right about now.”
Logan was near the fire place drinking a large pint of beer when he heard Peter’s words, and only after putting the glass down on top of the mantle was when he answered the young man. “No, you don’t kid. Trust me,” said the X-Man in a grim tone, remembering all the draw backs that came from his regenerative powers. Namely his slowed aging and how he was forced to watch as some of his friends over his long years grow old and pass away while he stayed the same.
Though Peter was still taken aback by Logan’s comment, Tony ignored it and turned to Steve Rogers, wearing clothing that was neatly pressed, showing that in this new era, he maintained his sense of discipline when not fighting crime and protecting the country as Captain America. “Well either way, now that everybody’s all here and accounted for, I think it’s time we got this show on the road, huh Steve?”
“Right you are, Tony,” Steve replied, then raised his hand to get the attention of everyone in the room. “Everyone, please quiet down! It’s time to get started.”
Upon hearing Steve’s words, most of the people present walked over to the left and right sides of the room, while the founding Avengers such as Steve, Jan, Hank, Tony, Thor, and even the Hulk stood in front of the fire place, almost as if they were judges. All which left a nervous Peter in the center of the room and standing right in front of the founding Avengers right in front of him, all ready to give their verdict regarding the teen’s membership.
Peter felt pure fearfulness take over once he felt the ‘trial’ atmosphere. But despite this, he remained as regal as he could. After all, he was in the presence of the Avengers, and thus felt he had that just as he had to show the best of Spider-Man back in the tournament, he had to show the best of Peter Parker the person.
Once everyone had settled down, Steve soon stepped forward to start things off. “All right everyone, as many of you already know, we are here to discuss the status of Peter Parker’s membership status in the Avengers.” As Steve continued, he looked at Peter, and for a moment, gave him a firm look. “And I can’t lie son, there were moments where your lack in both discipline and long-term experience showed and showed that you were a little rough around the edges.”
Peter hung his head in sadness upon hearing this comment. True, he expected to hear this from Steve, as well as the rest of the Avengers, but it still hurt his pride nonetheless.
Steve continued the review, but this time, a small smile appeared on his face. “But, when the situation was dire, you pushed on and came through when not just the team, but the entire world, needed you the most. Proving yourself to be not just soldier, but an Avenger.” Steve saw Peter look up to him hope and elation, and it reminded him of himself when he was told that he had been selected for Operation: Rebirth. “Granted, you still have a lot to learn, but we’ll see to it that you’d be given the proper training and guidance to make sure that you’re groomed into one of the best. All and all, we would be more than happy to keep you on the team.”
From here, a smirking Tony decided to jump in. “In other words, kid…you’re in. Welcome to being a full-time Avenger.”
With that verdict, everyone in the room, from Peter’s strongest supporters, to the proven wrong skeptics, all applauded Peter for his acceptance into the team.
As for Peter himself, he allowed a wide, joyous grin to appear on his face, as well as feel the lingering pain that existed in his body vanish, as he had now found acceptance within the group of heroes that he looked up to and idolized.
Once everyone finished clapping, Carol Danvers, one of Peter’s biggest doubters, was still big enough to walk over to elated young man and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. “Welcome aboard kid,” she told him, getting his attention. “And…you did good at the tournament. Real good.”
Peter responded to Carol by giving her both a small smile and respectful nod. “Thanks.”
The next to give his praise was that of Thor, who walked over to Peter to personally welcome his new comrade. “Indeed, Man of Spiders!” Thor said in his loud joyous tone. “Your actions make you not only worthy of the Avengers but would also make you most welcome in Asgard!”
Though Peter appreciated Thor’s sentiment, he still found his loud demeanor a little unnerving. “Uh, thanks…that’s good to know.” Peter told the Thunder God slightly nervously; all the while Carol has her palm over her face in embarrassment.
Meanwhile, the Hulk only watched as the group of heroes gather around Peter with Clint and T’Challa standing next to the Jade Giant.
It was here that the Clint looked up to the Hulk, curious as to why his naturally cranky large teammate was still looking at the Avengers welcoming their newest teammate. “Why so glum, Jade Jaws?” asked Clint. “Upset that Webs over there pounded Osborn before you got the chance?”
“A little,” Hulk replied truthfully, but as he looked at Peter being congratulated by more and more of the Avengers, the Green Goliath gave a small shrug. “But, at the end of the day, the kid showed that he’s got a lot of fight in him…as well as plenty of heart. So, I’d like to see what else he can do.” Moments later, the Hulk’s cranky scowl transformed into a confident smirk. “Still, he can’t smash as good as me.”
Clint couldn’t help but shrug himself, but in agreement to the Hulk being the best at smashing, as he seen it firsthand. “Hey, can’t argue with you on that.”
This, in turn, led the usually reserved T’Challa to smile also, as well as give a remark of his own to Clint. “And THAT would be the smartest thing you’ve ever said.”
This remark naturally annoyed Clint to no end. “Hey, watch it, Your Highness!”
Clint’s irritable retort was heard by that of the Natasha ‘Black Widow’ Romanov, who silently laughed at her old partner’s response. It remanded her of the banter that she used to get into with him when on assignment from S.H.I.E.L.D., and it was something that she missed. So much so, that she was thinking of addressing Tony Stark himself and ask to join the team as well, so she can work along side him again.
Meanwhile, as Jan watched Peter conversing with Steve, as well as being proud of him like she would be his little brother, she caught a glimpse of Sharon Carter slowly approaching, and her blonde hair suddenly reminded her of the other ‘guest’ she brought to the mansion. As such, she quickly walked over to Peter and gently pulled him aside. “Sorry Cap,” Jan told Steve politely, using her smile to hide her hastiness. “I need to borrow the Man of the Hour for just a second.” As she pulled the bewildered Peter along, Jan whispered this to him. “There’s somebody else here who’s dying to see you.”
As the baffled Peter walked with Jan, he looked around the room and wonder who else would need to see him with all the Avengers present. “Really? Who?”
Jan only gave Peter a sly smile as well as a wink. “Oh, you see when we get upstairs,” she answered coyly, then proceeded to lead the young man out of the room and over to a nearby elevator.
Meanwhile, Tony found himself starring at the large, Contest of Champions trophy inside a casing. After the events of the tournament, he did offer it to Peter as he was the one who won it, only for the Peter himself to refuse, as he said that it would cause suspicion to any people who would come over to his house. It was a decision that Tony understood and respected, but at the same time, gave him an idea. One in which he decided to share with Steve, who was still a bit confused by Jan suddenly taking Peter away. “You know Steve,” said the billionaire, still looking at the trophy, but managed to make Steve turn and face him. “This idea of a superhero tournament doesn’t sound like a bad one.”
Naturally, this suggestion caused Steve to look at Tony in pure disbelieve. “What?”
“Hear me out,” Tony replied holding his hand up to stop Steve from interrupting him before he could finish but kept his eyes on the trophy. “Each Avenger, or hero that signs up, can pick and fight for their own charities, and money goes to whoever wins. Plus, it’s a good way to look for new members, so this way, everybody wins and-” As Tony turned to face Steve, he saw that the Super Soldier had already stepped away from him and was now talking to Sharon Carter, a person to whom Steve had long since been interested in but never had the chance to properly talk to and figured now was as good as time as any to try. All which left Tony feeling both jilted and annoyed. “A simple ‘no’ would’ve been fine,” he muttered, then briefly caught a glimpse of Peter and Jan inside an elevator and the close closed. Something that managed to make Tony smile, knowing where Jan was taking the young man, and more importantly, to introduce him to a surprise guest that he and Jan arranged on bringing for a special surprise. All which left happy Tony to say this quietly. “Best of luck, kid.”