The moment Fury heard that name, alarm bells began ringing in his head.
"And no, this isn't an interactive video. I simply guessed what you were thinking, Fury. But without further ado, let's begin.
"What was new is new again.
"Rebirth.
"Restoration.
"Reformation."
Fury quickly arrived at the answer.
RENEWAL.
He typed it on the keyboard and waited for the next video to load.
As he waited, a small part of his mind began playing tricks on him, telling him that he had failed and condemned Barton's family. But just as the thought surfaced, he saw the next video begin to load.
Ding!
"Congratulations, Fury. You're just one riddle away from receiving the information you so desperately want.
"Now, let's talk about what you'll lose if you fail.
"All the information on Agent Romanoff will be revealed, along with everything related to the Red Room... and even information about the experimental treatments in Natasha's system, just like the ones in yours."
For perhaps the first time since the video began, Nick Fury abandoned his usual emotionless mask, revealing genuine anger and irritation toward the man on the screen.
"Fear he who hides behind one."
Fury thought for several seconds before typing his answer.
MASK.
Ding!
"Congratulations.
"You've reached the end of the Yellow Brick Road, Dorothy.
"Now, enjoy your much-lauded prize.
"And may luck be with you, pal."
Information began downloading onto his computer.
Once the download was complete, Fury began to read, and the more he read, the less he liked what he saw.
His base was compromised.
The government was compromised.
Even SHIELD itself was compromised.
"If Peggy could still get out of that bed, she'd kick me somewhere very painful for not realizing there were HYDRA agents inside my own organization, and even harder for not knowing that HYDRA was still around. But the icing on the cake would be the fact that I didn't know Pierce was a HYDRA agent."
Fury leaned forward in his chair and tiredly massaged his forehead.
"Now I understand why he was always so willing to help me with certain matters," he muttered to himself.
Leaning back again, he opened the second drawer on his right. Inside was a bottle of bourbon and a medium-sized glass.
He poured himself more than usual and began drinking in long gulps.
If it hadn't been for Red Hood, he never would have discovered any of this. Most likely, by the time the truth came to light, it would have been because HYDRA had finally decided to silence him permanently.
Fury pressed a button on his office intercom.
"Maria, I want you to bring Agent Coulson, Romanoff, and Barton to my office. That includes you. I want everyone here as soon as possible."
"Understood, sir."
Fury released the button and looked back at the files on his screen.
"Shit. This is going to be a long day."
....
Parker Residence. Spider-Cave.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Okay, this should be enough. Let's see," Peter said as he placed a sample of his blood under a microscope and then added a pink liquid.
I wonder if Trish has arrived at Jess's apartment yet. Good thing I managed to find her number and send her a message.
When he mixed the two, the red blood cells began to mutate before gradually returning to their previous state. However, when he tested the blood again, there was no trace of spider DNA, which surprised him.
But when he added another substance, this one green, the spider DNA reappeared in his red blood cells.
"Fascinating. It seems Rogue's powers can affect me, but the counter-serum I created using Rogue's DNA and McCoy's formula....which Cortana borrowed while she was at the mansion....can restore powers. This is perfect."
Peter looked at the next serum.
"Okay, let's move on to the second stage."
He picked up a red serum and loaded it into an injector that looked similar to the one Connors had used in the film.
"Good luck, Parker."
He injected himself with the serum.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then every vein in his body began to swell.
A wave of paralysis struck him, leaving him completely unable to move. Moments later, he lost consciousness.
For several minutes, Peter remained unconscious in the chair. Anyone who saw him would have thought he was dead.
Then, without warning, his eyes snapped open.
He woke with a start, agitated and drenched in sweat.
"Damn it. I'm not doing that again. I feel like every muscle in my body was crushed and rebuilt. Is this how Bane feels after using Venom?"
He remained in the chair, allowing himself a moment to recover. Thanks to his regeneration, it wouldn't take long for his muscles to heal and for him to get back to work.
"Let's see if it worked."
He took a syringe and drew another sample of blood, placed it under the microscope, and then added the clear substance.
Unlike before, absolutely nothing happened.
A satisfied smile spread across his face.
"It seems the serum worked. Thanks to this strange DNA of mine and the serum, I've become immune to Rogue's powers. Quite a feat."
He leaned back with a satisfied expression.
"Well, let's clean this up and move on to the second experiment."
....
Time Skip.
After conducting the experiment, Peter performed several tests on his blood and discovered that the pills he took to weaken his body during training no longer worked, forcing him to create new ones.
As the holidays approached, May began decorating the house for Christmas, making it feel more alive than usual.
Patrols had also become less difficult. After the equipment upgrades he had given the officers, crime temporarily decreased, making this version of New York feel almost like the one from the PS4 game, only with fewer cars.
The experiment he had planned using the blood he obtained through Logan was also progressing smoothly. It wouldn't take long to finish.
With everything he had planned progressing without difficulty, Peter decided to take a week off from his experiments, though not from training.
A few days earlier, they had moved on to weapons training, and during the process, Peter realized that he was extremely talented with firearms, especially the SCAR-20.
Every weapon he possessed had been obtained during his patrols. Some had been confiscated from mafia members and other criminals he had apprehended.
With everything proceeding according to plan, Peter took a week to relax from his experiments.
He spent that week going on dates with the girls and testing a concealment spell he had created.
The spell itself had been surprisingly easy to form. It worked on a concept similar to the concealment magic from Harry Potter, causing people to pay less attention to him while also reducing the attention directed toward his companion....in this case, Susan.
Without that spell, every outing, whether with the girls or alone, would have been torture.
Thanks to it, however, most people barely noticed him.
And if he wanted to attract attention, he simply had to cancel the spell.
On some occasions, he even visited the Sanctum Sanctorum to chat with the Ancient One.
During one of those visits, he met Mordo, and Peter had to admit that the man was a complete idealist, reminding him of Danvers and her obsession with rules.
Mordo was the kind of person who seemed to believe that breaking a single rule would mean the end of the universe.
Yet people like that always expected everyone to be grateful when they broke the rules themselves. Worse, they would then criticize others for doing the exact same thing, making them the worst kind of hypocrites.
When Peter and Mordo first met, neither of them particularly liked the other.
That had not changed.
Peter had also been hearing reports about a series of thefts occurring at night. From what the officers told him, the thief was incredibly talented.
They left no traces behind.
Everything was completely clean.
However, with Peter's help, the police discovered that all the thefts followed a pattern.
The thief only targeted bad people.
One example involved a diamond store whose owner turned out to be a complete predator. The man was eventually arrested after enough evidence was uncovered against him.
Once the pattern became clear, many of the officers began viewing the mysterious thief as a possible ally.
Further investigations revealed disturbing truths about several of the victims.
One example was the owner of a handbag store, a woman who had murdered another woman for supposedly causing her husband's infidelity.
(A/N: Guess who?)
Speaking of the police, Peter's relationship with them had improved considerably.
Since crime had decreased, he had enough time to help them with other matters, such as solving cases they couldn't crack or finding clues they had overlooked.
Over time, he had become something of an unofficial investigator and occasional advisor.
He still remembered solving one particular case in less than five minutes, one involving a group of friends and a house party.
Overall, the week had been one of pure relaxation and enjoyment.
Not to mention the evenings he spent with May.