"So not only did you find out your father rediscovered the super soldier serum, you yourself found out the formula by combining the files of an Italian geneticist, who is supposedly working for HYDRA, and your dad's old folder, and then proceed to give that sensitive information to said HYDRA agent?"
I looked at him and nodded, "pretty much, yeah." We were in Fury's jet, flying through the air.
Fury rubbed his eye. "You're going to give me a heart attack, kid."
I shrugged, "maybe, but all's not lost." I opened my SA and displayed a map with a red blip on it. "I'm tracking Wyndham now; we just have to follow him back to wherever he's hiding. I can find my aunt and uncle, and you can get that drive back."
Fury looked at the map. "He's going upstate. Somewhere...oh fuck."
"What? What's wrong?"
"That's an ex-CIA black site named Treadstone," Fury cursed. "How does he have access to that?"
"A CIA black site?" Cap asked. "That's illegal, Fury. The CIA—"
"—Isn't our problem, not right now," Fury looked at me. "You are."
I nodded, "yeah, and if you want you can spank me later. But right now, we have a black site to break into."
"You can't, at least not this one," Fury glared at it with hate. "It's designed to be unbreakable. Only one man has ever gotten in, and he's…"
"Dead?" Cap asked.
"No, not by any stretch," Fury's eye landed on me and then on Felicia, lingering on her for a while before he sighed. "Damn it, no choice." He pressed his communicator. "Hill, we need him...yes, the personnel we discussed...I know, I just hope you're wrong. Pilot, turn this ship around; we have unfinished work to do."
"Who are you bringing in?" I asked. The plane did a sharp turn; we were now going North.
Fury looked at me. "The greatest thief in the world. The only one who has ever successfully snuck into Treadstone's underground base and come out with a list of CIA special agents. We put him in prison for life for that — too dangerous — but I guess this is a special circumstance."
I shrugged, "cool...mind if I call in some help as well?"
Fury raised an eyebrow. "Who did you have in mind?"
"Oh, you'll like him — he's bald too!" I chuckled as I dialed Jean's personal number. She picked up quickly. "Hey, Marvel Girl, I need a favour from the X-Men."
An hour later:
We watched as the X-Men's plane landed next to the SHIELD jet. We were a few good miles away from the entrance to Treadstone; this way Wyndham wouldn't detect us even if he knew we were following him.
The Blackbird's cargo hold opened up and the X-Men walked out. Logan and Storm were in the same uniforms I had seen before, with Jean and Cyclops walking right next to them.
Jean's costume had gotten an upgrade. She wore a black armoured one-piece with a red 'X' in the middle of her chest and a green jacket. The jacket's sides were yellow with the name Marvel written over her right breast. Her face wasn't hidden, displayed proudly for all to see.
Cyclops now wore his signature yellow visor and a skin-tight blue armour suit. His uniform covered his arms and legs; he had yellow boots and gauntlets with a large yellow 'X' on his chest, like a vest.
"Spider!" Jean cried out as she jumped into my arms, hugging me tightly. "I so missed you!"
Scott growled, "you know this guy?"
"What? Oh, right," she looked nervous. "He ah — he—"
"He saved her from Magneto," Storm supplied, giggling at Jean's attempt to lie. "They are old friends."
I chuckled. "Yeah, by the way — cool costumes, guys. Totally digging the skin-tight spandex."
"It's not spandex; it's a polymer blend ten times stronger than Kevlar, able to stop bullets among...other things," Xavier rolled down the ramp, stopping before me and smiling. "It's good to see you again, Spider-Man."
"You too, Professor," I shook his hand before stepping aside. "Professor, this is Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD. Fury, this is—"
"—I know who he is," the man cut in, glaring at Xavier. "When you said you were bringing in backup, I didn't think you meant him."
"Is it because I'm a mutant, Director Fury?" Xavier asked with a tilt of his head.
"No, it's because you're a man with the ability to brainwash people," Fury shot back.
Xavier smiled. "I see Spider-Man's paranoia has rubbed off." Fury gave me a look; I said nothing and just shrugged.
"Jimmy?" Cap called out suddenly, as all eyes turned to him and Logan.
Logan sniffed the air near Steve. "You ah...you know me, bub?"
Steve chuckled. "Ah, yes, you could say that. Are you...are you related to James Howlett? Is he your grandfather or—"
"—No," Wolverine cut in. "I'm James Howlett...I think."
"You think?"
"I ah, I lost my memories; didn't even know my own name until the kid here helped me out." He pointed a thumb at me.
"B-but how? How are you even alive?"
I shrugged, "he's a mutant."
Steve nodded to me and then turned to Logan. "It's been so long, James...you really don't remember me? Any of it?"
"Sorry, can't say I do," Logan growled. "But...if you have time..."
Cap nodded. "Just say when. I don't really have anyone to talk to about this — guess people like us aren't very common."
Logan nodded. "You can say that again."
Fury and Xavier went off into one corner to talk, while Logan, Storm, and Steve talked amongst themselves. Steve mainly spoke about what he knew of Logan's past, which admittedly wasn't much — even back then, Logan had been a private man. But Logan and Storm listened aptly.
"So, what's all this then?" Johnny asked as he walked out of the SHIELD jet. His eyes were immediately drawn to the redhead; his jaw dropped. "Woah. Who are you?"
"Who are you?" Scott growled, stepping between Johnny and Jean.
"Have you been living under a rock? I'm Johnny Storm!"
Scott crossed his arms. "And?"
"Hello? Fantastic Four? The Human Torch? Ringing any bells here?" Johnny asked.
"No," was Scott's short reply.
Jean giggled. I sighed. "So predictable."
"Maybe," Jean shrugged. "Where's Felicia?"
"When we're in costume, call her by title — Black Cat," I told her. "She's in the jet, looking over the plans for the place we're trying to break into. It's always been her goal to crack a place like that; I guess she's just getting a head start."
Jean nodded as we walked into the jet. We passed by an unconscious and tied-up Jessica Drew. I felt my arousal increase as we passed her.
Jean looked at her. "Who's she?"
"It's ah...it's complicated," I sighed. We reached the main deck where Cat looked over a detailed holo-map of the entire structure.
"Cat!" Jean cried out.
Felicia tore her eyes away from the map, widening them in surprise. "Jean? When did you get here?"
"Just now!" She hugged Felicia before suddenly kissing her on the lips. "I missed you both."
Felicia coughed into her hands. "I see you're still...active."
"Oh, give it a rest — as if you wouldn't have done the same," I rolled my eyes.
"Speaking of," Jean turned to me and touched my mask, groaning. "How do I take this off?"
I chuckled. "Sorry, Birdie, but I don't really think me kissing another girl while—"
"—Oh, shut up, you noble bastard," Felicia flicked the button on the side of my helmet, raising the mouth-piece.
"Hey—" my protest was muffled as Jean's lips found mine. She kissed me deeply, her tongue pushing into my mouth. I slowly gave in and fought back, easily winning as I pushed her tongue back into her mouth.
We broke the kiss. She smiled. "What do you two say to a night out after this?"
Felicia rolled her eyes. "Never change, Jean."
"Don't plan to," Jean smiled. "Now seriously — a night out. You in?"
I shrugged, putting my face plate down. "I'll have to collect my car from where I left it, but it shouldn't be too much of a hassle."
"Alright! That settles it — tonight, we're going out!" Jean grinned.
"Shut up, so loud..." A groan drifted in from the hangar doors.
"Drew's awake," I sighed as I stepped next to Felicia. "Can you handle her?"
Felicia nodded. "Yeah, I've got this." She and Jean walked up to Jessica's stirring form, with me following a good twenty feet behind.
"Morning, sleeping beauty," Felicia spoke up as Jessica sat upright, her arms and legs restrained in chains.
"Where am I?" Jessica asked.
"SHIELD jet," Felicia supplied.
"No," Jessica looked horrified. "You have to get me out of here — please! You don't know what they're like! They'll kill me! Please, you have to—"
"—Hey, it's okay; everything's going to be just fine," Jean cut in, her voice soothing as she placed her fingertips on Jessica's temples. Her eyes flashed a shade of orange before Jessica's closed, going limp.
"What's going on?" Felicia asked.
"She's in Jessica's mind, trying to calm her down," I informed her.
Suddenly Jean stirred, and with her, Jessica. Jean smiled. "So, you okay now?"
Jessica nodded. "Y-yeah, I guess."
"What was she freaking out about?" I asked.
"She's been led to believe SHIELD would experiment on her and kill her to access her powers," Jean informed us.
"Woah, that's...woah," I looked at Jessica. "No wonder you thought I was the bad guy."
"Still not sure you aren't," she hissed.
"Listen, spiderling — I ain't the bad guy here. Have you seen the news? I stopped an alien invasion. If we were the bad guys, would we have done that?" I asked.
Jessica stayed silent, looking at me. She spoke slowly. "I...I asked about Hunts Point, about what they were doing...I can't...I can't believe that—"
"What did he say?" I cut her off.
She looked into my eyes. "That he did what needed to be done. But he said no one got hurt. No one."
"That's a lie," Fury called out as he and Xavier walked in. We all turned as he pulled an SA from his jacket pocket and enlarged the display.
I whistled. "Damn, are you a fan, Fury?"
"It has its uses," Fury smiled before displaying a file and showing it to Jessica. "Thirty-one children, dead. And in their DNA are trace amounts of your blood mixed in with lethal doses of radiation. He killed children — whether you choose to believe it or not is up to you."
"He...he promised to cure me," Drew looked like her world had just crashed around her. I could sympathize.
"He lied. He was using you to create an army, and now he just might have one." I walked up to her, resisting the urges swelling inside me. I unlocked the cuffs keeping her restrained and quickly stepped away.
Fury and the others looked at me cautiously. I waved their worries away. I turned to Jessica. "That man in there killed my parents and now has my aunt and uncle. He's a monster — he tried to use your blood to build an army for himself, killing children in the process. I'm not blaming you; there is only one man to blame, and that's him. If you want, join us, and together we can stop him. No one else will get hurt because of you."
Jessica rubbed her wrists. "I...I...I'm sorry," she looked down in shame.
I sighed and looked to Felicia. "Well, I tried."
"Yes, this is Fury," Fury spoke up, touching his earpiece. "Good, bring him into the jet; we'll plan our attack here."
"I'll call everyone else in as well," Xavier touched his forehead and focused. I assumed he sent out a psychic message, though I couldn't be entirely sure.
Soon, everyone had arrived — the X-Men; Johnny, who was still glaring daggers at Scott; Cap, who stood next to Logan with a relaxed demeanour; a handful of SHIELD agents; and, well, my team.
"So who's the special guest you're bringing along?" Logan asked.
"Him," Fury turned to see Nat walking in alongside a man dressed in a SHIELD operator's uniform. He had a thick white utility belt around his hip and special gloves, and wore a half-mask covering his mouth.
His hair was white. He looked old, with lines running down his face. His eyes, however, were green — a very familiar shade of green...wait a minute—
"Daddy?!" Felicia cried out.
"Say what now?!" I blinked in confusion.
The man looked at Felicia in surprise. He lowered his half-mask, revealing a white moustache and a small goatee. He looked at her in wonder. "Kitten?"
Felicia threw her goggles off and ran to the man. Nat stepped aside as Felicia jumped into her father's arms. We all watched as she cried, hugging him tightly. The man looked at her, and slowly tears began to fill his eyes. "Kitten!"
"Daddy!" They held each other. I could feel the loss radiating from her — the sadness and utter joy all at once. We watched in silence, letting the father and daughter have their moment.
"K-Kitten, what are you doing here?!" He turned to Fury. "Did you put her up to this?!"
"No, he did," Fury pointed at me. Felicia's father snapped his gaze toward me, and I gulped in fear. 'Fury, you asshole!'
"I...ah, I...it's nice to meet you, sir. I'm Spider-Man." I went rigid. I could have sworn I heard Jean giggling behind my back.
"And who are you?" he hissed.
"He's ah...he's my friend," Felicia stammered with a blush. "And he didn't do anything — I came to stop— wait, what the hell am I doing?!" Felicia drew back a fist and clocked her dad square across the nose. "Where the hell have you been?!"
The rest of us blinked in surprise. Damn, that was a total 180.
"Kitten, I—"
"—Do you know what Mom's been through?! What happened to us after you left?! Where were you?!"
"I was...I—"
"—With us, in a SHIELD prison so secure not even he could get out," Fury explained.
"Well, I wouldn't say that, Fury," the man adjusted his nose, grunting in pain. "We had an agreement — I was your prisoner, and in exchange you let my family go."
Fury shrugged. "Sure."
"I'm sorry, can someone explain what's going on here?" I asked. I really didn't like being kept in the dark. "I thought Cat's dad was dead?"
"He was, for all intents and purposes," Fury nodded. "His name is Walter Hardy, also known as the Cat. There wasn't a safe he couldn't crack or a building he couldn't breach. He was a pain in the ass, but we finally caught him."
"You mean I let you catch me," Walter looked at his daughter. "To make sure my Kitten could have a normal life, away from me."
"Fat lot of good that did," Logan huffed.
"Enough," Cap called out. "We are wasting time. Every second we spend here, HYDRA gets that much closer to cracking the super soldier formula. We need to move — now."
"I'm not going anywhere unless Fury gives me a reason to," Walter spoke up.
Fury raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"
"My Kitten. She's not going to have any part in this," Walter warned.
"What?!" Felicia cried out. "You can't!"
"I can and I will."
"You can't just leave and then show up one day acting like you're still my dad," Felicia hissed. "You have no right to keep me away from this!"
"Do you even know what this is?!"
"Yes — we're about to break into a top-secret, ex-CIA black site called Treadstone to get back my boyfriend's aunt and uncle," Felicia huffed.
Walter looked to Fury. "How involved is she?"
"Not much. And since she clearly doesn't want to leave, I'm assuming she's coming with us. So, can we all get serious here?" Fury ordered.
Walter looked at Felicia before sighing. "Fine. Show me the map." The hologram came up. Walter quickly studied it and pressed a finger on a ventilation shaft a few miles from the main entrance. "There. That's our way in. There should be a panel we can use to override the security door and open the front gates. Get me inside and I can crack it open."
"Good. Then we take it by storm," Cap said, pointing it out. "James and I will take the lead. Cyclops and Marvel Girl will bring up the rear with Spider and Johnny. Storm — your powers won't be at full capacity in the narrow corridors. Stay out here and make sure anyone who tries to leave doesn't get far. Nat, you and Black Cat go with Walter, find a way inside, and locate Spider's family. Any questions?"
No one objected.
"I spoke to the Professor; he'll connect us all telepathically," Fury stated. "So from here on we don't communicate verbally. It'll take some getting used to, but we'll adapt."
"Yes — all except Spider-Man and Black Cat," Xavier spoke up.
"Why?" Fury raised an eyebrow.
"We have mental dampeners in our masks, but..." I sighed, tapping my temple to deactivate the sensor. "I guess we can do without it."
Xavier nodded. "Thank you for trusting me, Spider-Man." I nodded, saying nothing. I helped Felicia switch off her mental dampener as well.
We moved. Felicia went with her father and Nat; the rest of us went with Johnny, Scott, and Jean. Before we parted ways, I caught Nat and pulled her aside. "Nat...if something goes wrong, get her out of there. Please."
Natasha nodded. "Don't worry, Peter. She'll be fine."
I nodded and quickly rejoined my squad as we moved toward where the facility entrance was supposed to be — a tunnel-sized opening sealed with ten-inch steel-reinforced gates. We waited outside for the Cat to open the doors.
"Peter? Can you hear me?" Jean's thoughts entered my head.
I focused my mind and answered non-verbally. "Yeah, Jean. What's up?"
"You're worried about her, aren't you?"
I chuckled. "You don't need to read my mind to know that."
"I didn't. Relax — she can handle herself."
"Kitten has a way of biting off more than she can chew," I told her. "She's...she's passionate about protecting the people she cares about."
"Sounds like someone else I know."
I smiled. My nerves calmed a little. And then the doors started to open.
"They're in! Move!" Cap ordered as he and Logan led the charge. They rushed in, and suddenly the entrance erupted in a hail of bullets. We dived behind some crates, using them as cover.
Cap then leapt out with his shield raised, deflecting the barrage. Logan growled and extended his claws, charging into the enemy lines, hacking and slashing his way through.
I didn't like blood. I hated it — hated the very idea of it. But if it had to be done...this was HYDRA. I ran behind Logan with Johnny, Scott, and Jean following closely.
We fought off the armed soldiers. I sent out repulsor blasts at the ceiling, bringing down chunks of rock on top of them. Jean hurled crates while Johnny and Scott blasted back with fire and force.
Suddenly we came across a fork in the hallway. Cap made us stop and assessed both sides. "We have to split up. James, you're with me. Spider, take the rest."
I nodded. "You've got it, Cap!" We split up quickly as I led my squad down the narrow hallway.
A door appeared at the end of the corridor. I made them stop. I turned to Jean. "Marvel Girl, check what's on the other side."
She nodded, pressing her fingers to her temples and focusing. She blinked. "Thirty men, all armed, levelling their guns at the door. The moment we step in, they'll open fire."
I nodded, studying the door. Steel — probably couldn't break through it...unless. "Cyclops, step up." He stood next to me. "On my signal, fire at the door and don't stop, okay?"
He nodded, finger resting on his visor. I turned to the door, puffed out my chest, and fired. "Unibeam — max power!"
Twin blasts of concussive force erupted from his eyes and my chest simultaneously. The door was ripped off its hinges and sent flying into the room, knocking out a handful of men.
"Light them up, Johnny!" I called out. The flaming man flew over my head and into the room, sending a stream of fire sweeping across the remaining men. Scott, Jean, and I charged in. While the shooters were busy firing at Johnny, we made our move.
Scott started firing into their ranks, knocking them down in waves. I threw my spider-shaped shuriken at the small army, piercing their gun arms before they even had a chance to pull the trigger.
Then the steel door from before rose into the air. I saw Jean focusing on it as she used it to sweep the men off their feet, sending them all crashing back. The room was clear within two minutes.
I straightened up, looking around. "Nice work, gang."
"Okay, now this is more my speed," Johnny grinned. "An ancient Nazi organization, kidnappings, bad guys with guns, hot redheads — it's like someone's been reading my diary!"
"You have a diary?" Scott raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, he does," I chuckled. "I found it once. Did you know he still sleeps with his—"
"—Shut it, web-head! Or I'll burn your clothes off!" Johnny yelled, drawing hard laughs from the rest of us.
I looked around. We were in what looked like a giant hangar of some kind — heavy equipment scattered across the floor, beams of steel and concrete. They were still building this place out.
"We need to move. We have to find out where Wyndham's lab is. Jean, can you do a sweep and locate any more conscious humans?"
"I'll try," Jean closed her eyes and focused. Within seconds she opened them again. "There," she pointed at a small door to our right fitted with an electronic lock.
"What did you find?" I asked.
"People — scientists, I think. Working against their will," Jean narrowed her eyes in fury.
"Sounds like Wyndham's M.O." We reached the door; it was locked.
"Stand back — I'll blast it open," Cyclops said, reaching for his visor.
"No need, Cyclops," I waved him down, pulling a wire from my gauntlet and inserting it into the keypad. "I've got this." It took my decoder only seconds to crack the code; it unlocked with a click. "Ta-da!"
"Decoder?" Johnny asked.
I nodded. "Yup."
I opened the door and walked in slowly. This section of the facility was much cleaner and looked state of the art. The walls turned to glass the further we went. Inside, a lab big enough to hold twenty people held only four — all in white lab coats.
"Are they loyal to HYDRA?" I asked Jean.
She closed her eyes. "No — none of them are here willingly."
I nodded. "Then we get them out. Now." I walked up to the glass door and quickly unlocked it. The door slid open and we stepped inside.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" a female scientist demanded.
"We're here to get you out. We're with SHIELD," I told her.
"SHIELD? Really?!" The others cheered.
"Right. Now we need to move quickly. Cyclops, Marvel Girl — get them out. Johnny and I will keep pushing through."
"No! You can't!" an older man cried out. "If we leave, they'll kill our families!" He ran up to me and grabbed my suit. "You can't do this!"
"I promise nothing will—" I stopped. I couldn't believe my eyes. He was older — so much older. Thinner than I remembered, but...it's him. My voice cracked. The words came out before I even realised it. "D-dad?"
Richard Parker looked at me, his eyes questioning. "I'm sorry?"
"G-get them out! Get them all out!" I yelled at the mutants. Jean flinched — she must have read my mind. Damn.
She and Scott moved toward the scientists. "Please — follow us."
Richard yelled, "You can't! They'll kill our—"
"—Your family will be fine!" I yelled, holding him back as the others filed out.
"Good luck, Peter," Jean said telepathically as she led them all away.
I turned to Richard. I raised my hands to my helmet and unlatched it. "Dude, what are you—" Johnny protested, but I held up a hand, silencing him.
I slowly removed my mask and looked at the tall, thin man standing before me. Richard's eyes went wide.
"Dad?"
"Pe-Peter?" Richard sounded as though he wasn't sure what he was seeing. "Is that really you?"
"How are you alive?" I reached out and touched his face, checking for any sign this was another robotic decoy. I found none.
"I...I, your mother and I—" tears began to well in his eyes as he pulled me into a tight hug. "Oh my God — my boy, my baby boy!"
My throat tightened. It wasn't fair. I wasn't his son — not his real son. This wasn't fair...but what could I do? I slowly hugged him back. "We need to get you out of here, Dad. Now."
"I...no, not yet!" Richard broke the hug. "Wyndham has my files — all of them! He can use them to create the super soldier serum for HYDRA! We need to stop him!"
I smiled. "Relax, Dad. I've already got that covered. He won't be getting anything soon. We need to get you out of here, and then find Wyndham — he has a lot to answer for—"
My spider-sense screamed. "Get down!" I shot a web line at Johnny and yanked him away, dropping low just as a dark shape sliced through the air where we had been a moment before.
We scrambled back to our feet. A ten-foot figure of black emerged from behind a cabinet.
It was a tiger — or something like one. It stood on two legs, covered in black fur with yellow stripes and a yellow vest across its back. Its body rippled with muscles that looked capable of bending steel. It snarled, amber eyes levelling on me. Its claws were the size of my hand. They clicked — and it leaped.
"Flame on!" Johnny yelled, sending a fireball at the thing. The creature was blasted back, yelping in pain. I recovered quickly and fired a burst of bio-electricity at it — enough to drop a bull.
"How did you obtain Subject D's powers?" Richard asked, amazed.
"Kind of a long story," I nodded. "What was that thing?"
"One of Wyndham's side projects. A human-animal hybrid strong enough to match Captain America's strength — but dumb. Extremely dumb."
"Ah, guys — we've got company," Johnny called out. I turned to see more animal hybrids pouring into the lab, each standing upright on two legs. There was one that looked like a boar, one like a horse, and one that looked disturbingly like a chihuahua. Obviously, the last one frightened me the most.
"Alright then," I charged up my repulsors. "Let's get cracking."
Johnny and I blasted through the animals like they were made of paper. Johnny burnt them enough to send them fleeing while I shattered bones with blasts and fists, then webbed them all up with reinforced webbing, forcing them into one tangled heap.
I turned to Richard and gave him a thumbs-up. "Told you we could handle it. Now come on — we've got a job to do!"
Richard nodded blankly as we ran out of the lab and down the corridor. He took the lead, guiding us through the base. We passed the security room. I stopped and broke it open with my decoder.
Inside, two guards levelled their guns at us. Two jets of flame from Johnny melted their weapons, and a split kick from me knocked them both out.
I went to the terminal and began tracking the SHIELD agents and Cap's location. I found them all in the main hangar I had just cleared — fighting the Sandman. They were losing, badly. Cap was using the environment to stay alive, breaking open pipelines to slow the monster down, while Wolverine was being battered around like a toy.
"Johnny, you need to get there and help them — you're the only one who can!" I yelled.
"On it!" Johnny flamed on and shot off down the corridor.
I began moving as well. "Stay right here — I'll be back soon."
"Where are you going?" Richard asked.
"Sandman. I'm going to stop him," I replied, having absolutely no idea how. Maybe Cap had the right idea — use the water. Could work.
"What?! No! You'll be killed!"
"Relax, Dad — I'll be fine," I told him. "I've dealt with him before."
"Not like this you haven't!" He pointed toward the hangar. "He's lost control! Wyndham has given him full freedom — he's a monster, Peter. One wrong move and you're dead!"
"Well, then — any suggestions?" I asked.
Richard looked scared. I couldn't blame him. He thought for a moment, then nodded firmly. "Yes, actually. I do have one."
I followed him back into his lab. Luckily, the animal hybrids were still trapped in my webbing. We went to his workstation, where he took out a metal box and opened it to reveal two gauntlets.
"I made them for Wyndham, in case the Sandman ever got loose. They produce a vibrational frequency that alters his body composition, making him break apart like glass."
I picked up the gauntlets. They were smaller than mine — I couldn't fit them over my own. I cursed under my breath. I made a quick choice, pulled off my gauntlets, and slipped on Richard's. They hummed with energy.
This felt familiar...the Shocker used gloves like these, didn't he? Worth looking into later.
I turned to Richard and nodded. "I'll be back soon." I tossed him my gauntlets. "Keep them safe for me!"
I didn't wait for a reply. I sprinted into the main hangar. Cap was on the verge of being smashed into red, white, and blue rubble. "Cap!" I yelled, thrusting my arms forward and activating the gauntlets. A surge of vibration strong enough to shatter the Sandman's composition tore through the air.
"WHAT?! NOO!" The Sandman stared at his hand as it dissolved before his eyes. He focused desperately, trying to call the sand back — and failed. "HOW?!"
"It's way too complex for someone like you to understand, sand boy," I cried out. Johnny came flying in and scooped Cap up, placing him right next to me before circling around to bathe the monster in flames.
"Thanks for that, Spider," Cap spat out a wad of sand. "Do you have a way to finish him?"
"I think so," I pointed at the gauntlets.
"Then do it!"
I nodded and charged at the Sandman, jumping around it and blasting out waves of vibrational energy. I pinned down more and more of his sand, reducing him in size. Johnny then came sweeping down and hit the remaining mass with enough heat to turn it to glass.
We stepped back, watching the human-shaped glass figure settle in the middle of the floor, surrounded by still sand.
"That...was exhausting!" Johnny cried out.
"You're telling me," I sighed. I spotted a hand sticking out of the sand, three metal claws attached to it. I went over and pulled Logan free. He gasped and spat out enough sand to build a small castle. "I hate the beach."
"Can't swim?" I asked. He responded with a glare full of murderous intent.
"Son!" I saw Richard run into the hangar clutching my gauntlets.
"Son?" Cap asked, surprised.
"Yeah. Guess today's the day all the dads come back from the grave," I sighed as Richard approached, staring in awe at the glass-encased Sandman.
"You did it," Richard breathed.
"Hey — we helped," Johnny smirked.
"Thanks for the gauntlets, Dad. They were incredible," I took them off and exchanged them for my own. "Now, listen — we've still got work to do."
Richard then turned and gasped at the sight of Cap. "Y-you're Captain America."
"In the flesh, sir," Steve extended his hand.
"I-I've been following your work since I was a boy!" Richard shook his hand vigorously. "I based my entire life's work on you."
Steve smiled. "Peter told me what you did. It takes a brave man to stand against evil the way you did."
"I-I didn't do much; I just ran and...oh God," he turned to me with sudden realisation. "You fought aliens?!"
I blinked and looked around. "Are you talking to me?"
"Yes! You fought aliens! And you're an Avenger! How — do May and Ben know about this?!"
"No!" I cried out. "And you can't ever tell them! They would freak out!"
"What about me?! I'm your father!"
I shrugged. "Think of it like a bonding experience. After all, a family that fights evil Nazis together stays together."
"I think I'm having a heart attack," Richard rubbed his forehead.
"Huh, so that's where he gets it from," Johnny whispered.
"Spider!" I heard a familiar voice. I turned to see Felicia running out of a tunnel entrance with her father, Nat, Aunt May, and Uncle Ben.
"Cat!" I cried out, spreading my arms wide.
"Not the time, honey!" she yelled. I looked past her and saw a squad of those animal hybrids in pursuit.
"I've got it!" I leapt over them and levelled my repulsors at the animals, blasting them back into the tunnel. I kept firing every time they tried to advance, until finally they were all unconscious.
"Ben?" I heard Richard ask.
"Oh my God," came a faint voice. I watched as Aunt May fainted on the spot. Walter immediately caught her, while Uncle Ben looked like he was doing everything he could not to follow suit.
"H-how?" Ben asked.
"It's a long story," Richard sighed.
"One we don't have time for," Nat grabbed Ben's arm. "You're coming with us — let the others handle this."
"But I—" Richard looked at me.
"It's fine, Dr. Parker — we've got this," I gave him a thumbs-up. Nat and Walter — carrying Aunt May — led Richard and Ben toward the exit. Richard threw me one last look of regret, but I just waved him ahead.